looking for Langston is avisually beautiful and lyric exploration of black gay identities. A poetic meditation on the jazz/blues infused Harlem Renaissance as one central motif fo r the re-presentation of the black gay artist. The poetry of Essex Hemphill, and Bruce Nuggent are featured with Jazz and Blues music by Blackberri; this and other texts weave through the stylized dramatic sequences and archive material in afilm which celebrates gay desire and laments the attitudes expressed by contemporary society. In the words of James Baldwin:"A person does not lightly elect to oppose his society. One would much rather be at home among one's compatriots than be mocked &detested by them. And there's a level on which the mockery of the people, even their hatred is moving, because it is so blind." 40 minutes. Black &White. 01 RECTOR ISAAC JULIEN PRODUCER NADINE MARSH-EDWARDS DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY NINA KELLGREN ART DIRECTOR DEREK BROWN EDITOR ROBERT HARGREAVES ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CHRIS HALL MAUREEN BLACKWOOD PRODUCTION ASSISTANT ROBERT CRUSZ FEATURING BEN ELLISON MATHEW BAIDOO AKIM MOGAJI JOHN WILSON DENCIL WILLIAMS GUY BURGESS JAMES DUBLIN JIMMY SOMERVILLE FEATURING THE POEMS OF ESSEX HEMPHILL BRUCE NUGGENT SONGS llBEAUTIFUL BLACK MEN" AND llBLUES FOR LANGSTON" WRITTEN AND ARRANGED BY BLACKBERRI. PHOTO BY SUNIL GUPTA. A SANKOFA FILM &VIDEO PRODUCTION C. 1989. FINANCIALLY ASSISTED BY CHANNEL FOUR TELEVISION FOR INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY CONTACT: THIRD WORLD NEWSREEL 335 W. 38TH STREET j N.Y./ N.Y. 10018 (212)947-9277 SHOWING SOON IN: NEW YORK CHICAGO SYDNEY LOS ANGELES SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA BOSTON WASHINGTON/ DC HOUSTON PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH BERKELEY 2025 Eye Street, NW INTERVIEW 4 VVashington, DC 20006 -------------------- Video Pioneer Philip Mallory Jones on the evolution of video as art (202) 466-2753 A DIFFERENT FREEDOM -------- 6 Editor Jacquie Jones Euzhan Paley, the young director from Martinique who brought us the lush Sugar Cane Alley, is back with afi 1m about apartheid that isn't so romantic Assistant Editor Peter J. Harris Consu Iting Editor BROTHER TO BROTHER: BLACK GAY MEN'"'AND FILM Tony Gittens (Black Film Institute) Essex Hemphill and Isaac Julien -- 14 Associate Editor/Film Critic British filmmaker Isaac Julien looks back at the begin­ Arthur Johnson nings of a controversy Associate Ed itors Pat Aufderheide Waiting for Langston ______ 12 Keith Boseman By Fred Brown, Jr. Victoria M. Marshall Looking for Langston captures the human struggle Mark A. Reid for inclusion Saundra Sharp A. Jacquie Taliaferro Negro Faggotry ------- 18 Clyde Taylor By Hilton Als Art Director Looking for Langston tries to create aspace in history for Davie Smith LOOKING FOR LANGSTON the intellectual, sexually transgressive Negro Marketing Director Jenice View Other Notions ----------------- 20 Advertising Director The creator of Ethnic Notions, nominated for an 1989 Emmy, discusses his upcoming work Jennifer Logan Tongues Untied, amulti-textural look at the Black gay community Found ing Ed itor 12 David Nicholson What's Wrong With This Picture? ----------- 22 1985 - 1989 By David Frechette The Blackgaycharacter, when present, isaone-dimensional mammie/buddywhose entire Black Film Review (ISSN 0887-5723) is published presence is defined by hilarity four times a year by Sojourner Productions! Inc./ a non-profit corporation organized and incorporated in the District of Columbia. This issue is co-produced VIEWPOINT with the Black Film Institute of the University of the The Trouble With Rabbits - -- ------ -.- -- 24 District of Columbia. Subscriptions are $12 ayearfor individuals/ 524 a year for institutions. Add $10 per By Sharon Stockard Martin and M. Belinda Tucker year for overseas subscriptions. Subscription re­ Toons step on historical toes quests and correspondence should be sent to P.O. Box 18665) Washington l D.C. 20036. Send all other correspondence and submissions to the above FEATURES address; submissions must include astamped! self­ Film Clips ------------------ 3 addressed envelope. No part of this publication may Mickey Leland, Fall Line Up, Charles Burnette's To Sleep With Anger, more ..... be reproduced without written consent of the pub­ lishe r. Log 0 and contents copyright (c) Sojou rner Productions) Inc.! 1987) and in the name of individ­ Reviews: Festival Picks -------------- 11 ual contributors. Filmfest DC's Mapantsula and FESPACO's Heritage African Black Film Review welcomes submissions from writers) but we prefer that you first query with a Calendar _----------------- 26 letter. All unsolicited manuscripts must be accompa- nied by astamped) self-addressed envelope. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. Black Classifieds ----------------- 27 Film Review has signed a code of practices with the National Writers Union l 13 Astor Place l 7th Floor, New York) N.Y. 10003. This issue of Black Film Review was produced 6 with the assistance of grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. ADRYWHITE SEASON FROM THE EDITOR Luare a subscriber or a regular reader, you've already noticed some changes, a newformat, more pages, a new editor. Several ofyou have called or dropped us notes; most of which contained the same basic sentiment: ''I heard David Nicholson's gone! Is there still a BFR?" Well, we've moved, and we've changed; in short, we'vegrown. But because Black Film Review has always depended on the energies and contributions ofa great manypeople, it has always been movingand changingandgrowing. So, this issue represents a plateau in a staircase of many; it is not a beginning, and certainly, not an end. Ifanything, this issue is a tribute to BlackFilm Review'sfounder, DavidNicholson, whose vision has embraced the men and women who continue to inspire and realize the world ofBlack film. We offer it to him as evidence ofour intention to continue to explore and present that world. We've renewed our commitment to supporting the Black independ­ entfilm movement by providingour readers with more news and informa­ tion about thefilms andfilmmakers. We haveadded a calendar, so that our readers will know when and where they can see the films featured on these pages. And our commitment does not end there. We will also continue to bring forth perspectives that are often excluded or overlooked by the mainstream press. Ideas that challenge our own assumptions about Black images and the paucity of multi-cultural participation in the film and television industries. A ndin the wake ofthe "controversy"surroundingSpikeLeeandhis Do the Right Thing and more recently IsaacJulien and his Looking/or Langston, I would suggest that we all renew our commitment, that we all challenge some basic and ordinary assumptions about this movement. I encourage you to take part in the debate: Which Way the Black Film Movement? (see BFR Vol. 5, No.2) because it is no longer enough (it never was) to grumbleabout the lack ofpositiveimages on television orthe absence ofBlack people's names on movie credits. Movements need rrtany things besides heros and rhetoric. On that note, I encourage you to continue to support the work of Blackfilmmakers andforums thatpresent that work, andI thank allofyou who have helped and continue to help articulate the vision and the voice of Black film and Black Film Review. 2 . F i I ll1 c I I p s ••••••••••••••• l\Iicl~ey Leland (1944-1989) by Roy Campanella, II When Texas Congressman Mickey Leland died tragically in a plane crash, this past August, African-American filmmakers lost an understanding fiiend and active supporter. He had a deep appreciation for the problemswe face and displayed his cormnitment by supporting congressional legislation to create the IndependentPrograrnmingService. I discussed the conceptofthe programming service with him during early lobbying efforts coordinated by the Association ofIndependent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF). He appreci­ ated the analogy I made between African-Americans culturally starving for images ofthem­ selves andAfricans physically starving from drought and civil war. Mickey Lelandwas an ex­ ceptionallegislatorwho provided much needed leadership on both these fronts. As a founding member and Chairman ofthe House SelectCormnittee on Hunger, Congressman Leland, 44, was traveling with a group ofU.S. and Ethiopian officials tovisit the refugee camp atFugnido on the Sudanese border,where more than 30,000 young Sudanese orphans receive U.S. aid. Mickey Leland played a pivotal role in making possible the u.S. financial aid. Thiswas his seventh humanitarian trip to Ethiopia. The tragic death of Congressman Leland is a loss for all ofus. He is survived by his wife, Allison, who is pregnant, and a three year-old child. • THE INDEPENDENT the only national magazine devoted exclusively to indepen­ To Sleep With Anger dent film and video production 7;Sleep WithAn~ an independentfeature written and directed by Charles Burnette, • Insurance: Group life, medical, disability has completed principal photographyin Los Angles. Burnette, critically acclaimed for his and equipment insurance at affordable Killer ofSheep and My Brother's Wedding; is working with an ensemble castincluding Danny rates, plus dental insurance for New York Glover, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Richard Brooks, Paul Butler, MaryAlice, Carl Lumley, and Vonetta McGee. and New Jersey residents To Sleep -with Angr?Y"is a co-production ofSony, EdPressman, and CuddyChubb, fihned • Festival Bureau, with current infonnation on a $1.3 million budget. No distributor has been setyet. Burnettewas the recipient ofa on over 400