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CEREMONIES: A Selection of Short Films by Marlon Riggs
May 19, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
FREE
About this event
A filmmaker unlike any other, Marlon Riggs was an unapologetic gay Black man who defied a culture of silence and shame. Riggs used a bold mix of documentary, performance, poetry, and music to confront the legacy of racist stereotypes and the impact of AIDS on the Black community. He died in 1995 of AIDS-related illness, leaving behind a vital, living body of work that wrestled with the very definition of what it means to be Black.
CEREMONIES directly references poet Essex Hemphill’s groundbreaking anthology of short stories and poetry Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award when it was published in 1992. The book’s poems and essays expand on many important social issues at the time, such as the white objectification of Black men, as epitomized by Robert Mapplethorpe’s The Black Book; AIDS in the Black community; and the complex dynamics gay Black men experience in both the white LGBTQ+ community and in Black culture – very much in alignment with Rigg’s exploration of these topics as it appears in his film works. In addition, Essex Hemphill’s poetry was also featured in Marlon Riggs’ documentaries Tongues Untied (1989) and Black Is … Black Ain’t (1994).
This program features three of Riggs’ short films: Affirmations, Anthem, and Regrette Rien (No Regret).
A post-discussion will be led by SSCAC Public Programs and Engagement Manager, and co-curatort of EMERGENCE zakkiyyah najeebah dumas-o’neal and Aymar Jean Christian, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, and co-founder of OTV | Open Television.
This screening is presented in conjunction with EMERGENCE: Intersections at the Center, currently on view until July 2, 2022.
EMERGENCE: Intersections at the Center spotlights The South Side Community Art Center’s historical role in supporting a full spectrum of Black artists through an intersectional viewpoint. The first exhibition of its kind at the South Side Community Art Center, EMERGENCE positions the Center as an important anchor for Black LGBTQ artists who belonged to its community from its founding in 1940 to the 1980s and beyond. The exhibition features works addressing identity and community, queer spaces and performance, in collage, painting, sculpture, photography, and more.
This program is generously supported by, and in partnership with South Side Projections.
Founded in 2011, South Side Projections presents films at locations across Chicago’s south side to foster conversation about complex social and political issues. At many screenings, we enlist scholars, activists, and filmmakers to lead discussions, while other screenings offer opportunities to present seldom-seen films of historical and artistic value to the communities of Chicago’s south side.
