Paradoxically, amazingly sweeping in scope yet tenderly intimate in delivery, Black Is, Black Ain’t loves up to its title with aplomb. In under 90 minutes it tackles so much about blackness from the role of the church to homosexuality to class to dialect to demographic to sexism and more and yet never feels overstuffed or rushed. It has an astounding clarity of vision that makes every scene flow and every topic intersect.

Including the one that had me put off watching this for a while. Marlon Riggs died of AIDS while making this documentary, and I wasn’t ready to say farewell to such a sensitive visionary and beautiful soul. That was foolish of me. Because while Black Is, Black Ain’t doesn’t shy away from the reality, the fear, the tragedy, it is no funeral dirge. It celebrates him as it celebrates so much of blackness, and through this doc’s and his other films’ influences, he lives on. Through his dream of bridging understanding and empathy and love between black people, he lives on. And though God knows it’s not perfect, that there are still struggles and fears and bigotry, I do believe the community is more welcoming and accepting of queerness than it was when this was made. And I believe Riggs’ work had a good hand in that.

So much of what’s in here is endlessly relevant, and the artistry and heart are timeless. Marlon Riggs and his work are must see for anyone. Dig them up. You don’t regret it.