Anthem, Affirmations and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) 3 short films by Marlon Riggs

An anthology of three Seminal works by Marlon Riggs on Black gay identity.

Anthem (9 minutes) Marlon Riggs' experimental music video politicizes the homoeroticism of African-American men. With images--sensual, sexual and defiant--and words intended to provoke from poets Essex Hemphill and Colin Robinson, Anthem reasserts the "self-evident right" to life and liberty in an era of pervasive anti-gay anti-Black backlash and hysterical cultural repression.

Affirmations (10 minutes) An exploration Black gay male desires and dreams, Affirmations starts with an affectionate, humorous confessional and moves on to a wish for empowerment and incorporation.

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) (38 minutes) Through music, poetry and quiet, at times chilling self-disclosure, five sero-positive Black gay men speak of their individual confrontations with AIDS, illuminating the difficult journey Black men throughout America make in coping with the personal and social devastation of the epidemic.

From panic, resignation, and silence to the discovery of the redemptive healing power in being vocal and visible as HIV-positive Black gay men, each tells a singular and at the same time familiar story of self-transformation--a story in which a cone shameful, unmentionable "affliction" is forged into a tool of personal and communal empowerment.

Marlon Riggs died with HIV/AIDS in 1994 and was dedicated to confronting the urgency of the AIDS epidemic in African American communities and especially among Black gay men.