The Watermelon Woman. 1996. USA. Directed by Cheryl Dunye. Screenplay by Dunye, Douglas McKeown. With Dunye, Guinevere Turner. DCP courtesy Janus Films. 84 min.
The first feature film directed by a Black lesbian, Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman presents a striking counter narrative to conventional Hollywood representations of Black life. Cheryl portrays Cheryl, a fictionalized version of herself as a Philadelphia video store clerk on a quest to complete a documentary. The subject of her film: a Black actress from the 1930s who was credited only as “the watermelon woman.” Dunye uses the implications of the watermelon woman’s identity (or lack thereof) as a critical turning point to spur conversations about representation—a particularly powerful gesture in a decade when the arts community was largely unwilling to consider them. Deftly taking a lighthearted approach to this urgent cultural investigation, Dunye also chronicles a vibrant lesbian community of support and empowerment—a portrayal that was also largely absent from mid-1990s cinema.
Preceded by
Hold Me Close. 2024. USA. Directed by Directed by Aurora Brachman, LaTajh Simmons-Weaver. DCP. 19 min.
A chronicle of the power and complexity of the relationship between Corinne and Tiana, two Queer Black womxn who experience life’s cycles of joys and pain together in the home they share.