{"id":146889,"date":"2020-09-15T20:53:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T00:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/?p=146889"},"modified":"2020-09-15T20:53:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T00:53:34","slug":"ovid-streams-seven-films-by-iconic-filmmaker-marlon-riggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/ovid-streams-seven-films-by-iconic-filmmaker-marlon-riggs\/","title":{"rendered":"OVID Streams Seven Films By Iconic Filmmaker Marlon Riggs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OVID.tv,<\/a> the curated streaming destination for documentaries and art-house films, will be adding 33 films, its most ever in a single month, to its September streaming lineup\u2014a roster of films with a diversity of approach, form and content unlike that on any other platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Miller, director of OVID.tv, pointed out the selections of contemporary global cinema, personal essay films, meticulous archival films, oddities and classics from film history (and about film history), and the first release on any platform of the restored version of Chantal Akerman\u2019s From The East<\/em> on Sept. 24. And as part of its growing library of Black Lives Matter films,OVID is proud to add a collection of seven films from iconic Black, gay filmmaker Marlon Riggs (1957-1994), which began Sept. 10. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve never heard of Marlon Riggs, you\u2019ll wonder why the hell not.<\/strong> How could an artist this smart, this prescient, this frank, transparent, curious, ruminative and courageous \u2014 this funny \u2014 escape your notice? Why haven\u2019t these trenchant, masterful video essays, with insinuatingly tangy names like \u2018Color Adjustment,\u2019 \u2018Ethnic Notions\u2019 and \u2018Black Is\u2026 Black Ain\u2019t,\u2019 been a part of not just your movie diet but also your sense of self-understanding? How come nobody told me?!\u201d – Wesley Morris, The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riggs was an American filmmaker, educator, poet and gay rights activist. Riggs created aesthetically innovative and socially provocative films that examine past and present representations of race and sexuality in America. The seven documentaries he produced, wrote and directed, which will stream on OVID, include, the Emmy winning Ethnic Notions<\/em> (1987), the Teddy winning Tongues Untied <\/em>(1989),<\/strong> Affirmations<\/em> (1990), Anthem<\/em> (1991), the Peabody winning Color Adjustment <\/em>(1991), Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret)<\/em> (1992) and the the IDA and Sundance award-winning Black Is\u2026Black Ain\u2019t<\/em> (1995)<\/strong>. When Tongues Untied<\/em> aired on the PBS series POV<\/em> in 1991, it brought about controversy as some public TV stations refused to air it, and it also riled some groups in the religious right. In 1988, Riggs was diagnosed with HIV. He continued to teach and work on his films, even as his health deteriorated. He passed away on April 5, 1994. The Marlon Riggs Collection is now housed at Stanford University Libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to watch Marlon’s films on Ovid.tv! <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women directors in the spotlight in September include Vivian Qu\u2019s narrative feature Angels Wear White<\/em> (Sept. 4), about the assault of two teenage girls in China, for which Indiewire<\/em> called \u201cthe perfect film for the #MeToo movement.\u201d  There is also Julie Bertuccelli\u2019s The Tree<\/em> (Sept. 11) starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nancy Cooperstein Charney\u2019s Who\u2019s Next?<\/em> (Sept. 23), which examines how the lives of Muslim-Americans have been affected in the aftermath 9\/11, Anna Moot-Levin & Laura Green\u2019s The Providers<\/em> (Sept. 23), Nancy Buirski\u2019s Afternoon of a Faun<\/em> (Sept. 29) and Jo Ann Kaplan\u2019s Invocation – Maya Deren<\/em> (Sept. 29) about the legend of avant-garde cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September also brings Thomas Heise\u2019s cinematic essay through 20th-century Germany history Heimat Is A Space In Time<\/em> (Sept. 8), the four-part docuseries The Hitler Chronicles<\/em> (Sept. 8), the epic drama Lumumba<\/em> (Sept. 11) directed by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro<\/em>), Andrei Ujica\u2019s documentary The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu<\/em> (Sept. 18), which tracks the rise and fall of the infamous Romanian dictator through his own propaganda footage, and the gripping found-footage documentary Let the Fire Burn<\/em> (Sept. 17), which chronicles a longtime feud between the city of Philadelphia and a controversial radical urban group, which came to a deadly climax in 1985. First-time filmmaker Jason Osder has brought to life one of the most tumultuous and largely forgotten clashes between government and citizens in modern American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other highlights include Tony Manero <\/em>(Sept. 15) from director Pablo Larra\u00edn (Ema<\/em>, Jackie<\/em>), a duo of docs that take to the waters include 90 Degrees South<\/em> (Sept. 22), Herbert G. Ponting’s spellbinding chronicle of Captain Robert Scott’s heroic and ultimately tragic race for the South Pole, and Drifters<\/em> (Sept. 22) by early silent filmmaker John Grierson, who creates a \u2018city symphony\u2019 out of the North Sea herring fisheries, and a contemporary classic, Camille Claudel <\/em> (Sept. 24) starring Isabelle Adjani and G\u00e9rard Depardieu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details on all the films coming to OVID in September are below. Stay tuned for even more releases coming soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday, September 14th:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Marlon Riggs; Signifyin\u2019 Works, Documentary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Black Is … Black Ain’t<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Black Is\u2026Black Ain\u2019t (86 minutes, 1995)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlon Riggs’ final film debates Black identity, white critiques, sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, colorism and cultural nationalism. “Riggs’ eye turns pain into poetry, ordinary people into prophets. To put it simply: ‘Black Is…Black Ain’t’ is moving and brilliant.” – Gloria Naylor Friday, September 4th <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, September 16th:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Marlon Riggs; Signifyin\u2019 Works, Documentary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tongues Untied (55 minutes, 1989) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A landmark and controversial personal documentary essay on experiences of black gay men and the search for identity. It has been critically acclaimed as one of the most important documentaries of the 20th century. “A black male warrior fighting for the right to love other black men, Marlon Riggs affirms what was nearly lost, newly found; the certainty that black male lives are utterly precious.” — Alice Walker <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, September 4th<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angels Wear White<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Vivian Qu; KimStim, Narrative<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a small seaside town, two schoolgirls are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. Mia, a teenager who was working on reception that night, is the only witness. For fear of losing her job, she says nothing. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Wen, one of the victims, finds that her troubles have only just begun. Trapped in a world that offers them no safety, Mia and Wen will have to find their own way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, September 8th<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hitler Chronicles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Joachim C. Fest, Christian Herrendoerfer, Michael Kloft, Jochen Bauer, Peter Cohen; Syndicado, 4-Part Documentary Series<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As never seen before, and more topical today than any other Hitler biography, the Chronicles<\/em> depict everyday European life between 1889 and 1945 in impressive images, many of them in color. Based on the most extensive compilation of archive material to date, with almost half of it previously unpublished sources, Hitler’s life is shown in detail against the social backdrop of the first half of the 20th century in a contemporary interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heimat is a Space in Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Thomas Heise; Icarus Films, Documentary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In HEIMAT IS A SPACE IN TIME, German filmmaker Thomas Heise shares the stories of three generations of his family, in their own words. It\u2019s a personal history of Germany on an epic scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heise sets the tone early, reading an anti-war essay written in 1912 by his grandfather Wilhelm, when he was a schoolboy. The director uses the same matter-of-fact, uninflected tone throughout the film \u2013 as he reads letters and notes from relatives who lived through the horrors of the First World War, Nazi Germany, and then life in Communist East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, September 10th:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Marlon Riggs; Signifyin\u2019 Works, Documentary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n