Black Is… Black Ain’t

Marlon Riggs's 1995 documentary argues over whether Black identity has a single definition. Riggs travels across America talking with people of different generations and positions; no answer invalidates another. Exclusion within the community is at the centre. Sexism, hostility to gay people, discrimination by skin tone and class distance are each taken up; Riggs places them as matters as serious as racism from outside. Riggs was hospitalised with AIDS-related complications during filming and died in 1994. In several sections he speaks to camera from his hospital bed; the film was completed by his team from his notes. Angela Davis, bell hooks and Cornel West speak among others. Who it's for: those interested in the American documentary tradition and debates about identity. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a single conclusion; the film deliberately leaves the question open.