Preceded by “Cottonmouth”, featuring a Zoom Q+A with “Cottonmouth” director Ama Anane!
30th Anniversary!
Cheryl Dunye made cinematic history with The Watermelon Woman, the first American feature to be directed by a black lesbian as well as an incisive, humorous critique of classic Hollywood's racist stereotypes.
Dunye plays an eponymous video store employee and burgeoning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary on the Watermelon Woman (Lisa Marie Bronson), an actress who specialized in "mammy" roles for Hollywood productions of the 30s and 40s. As Cheryl uncovers the Watermelon Woman's identity she not only learns about a secret behind-the-scenes interracial romance but also begins one of her own with Diana (Guinevere Turner, Go Fish), a white woman who arouses the ire of Cheryl's best friend Tamara (Valerie Walker).
A landmark of the New Queer Cinema, The Watermelon Woman testifies to the power of excavating legacies of oppression and in the process creates a progressive legacy of its own.
1996, 84 minutes, USA, Directed by Cheryl Dunye, Rated R
Preceded by “Cottonmouth”:
Cottonmouth is a romantic dramedy about a Black woman named Ayo, who's writing her graduate thesis about her namesake, Nana Ayo Forbes, who died on Cottonmouth Plantation. Oh, Georgia, with its cottonwoods and peaches. Why do the ugliest things happen in the most beautiful places? While on a trip to visit Cottonmouth, Ayo wrestles with the legacy of slavery and her romantic future. She’s falling in love with her White. Girl. Friend. She hasn’t yet strung those words together, but Ayo’s not falling without a fight.
2025, 15 minutes, USA, Directed by Ama Anane, Unrated
About the Filmmaker (Cottonmouth):
The product of Jamaican and Ghanaian parents, Ama Anane grew up in two of the wildest places on earth: Papua New Guinea and Las Vegas. Her scripts and standup explore the identities and experiences that divide and make us whole. Ama is currently part of the NBC Universal TV Writing Program and was named one of Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2025. Ama currently works as a staff writer for a new Peacock television show.
1996, 84 minutes, USA, Directed by Cheryl Dunye, Rated R
“Funny and smart, full of biting humor and astute observations about identity and history, Cheryl Dunye's audacious, joyous debut feature captures the process of falling hopelessly in love with the movies.”
– Serena Donadoni, THE VILLAGE VOICE
“Cheryl Dunye has such a light, easy touch both in front and in back of the camera that you're in danger of not noticing how skillful a craftsman she really is or how deftly she raises serious issues of race and sexual orientation.”
– Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“They don’t get much more groundbreaking than Cheryl Dunye’s landmark of queer cinema.”
– Andrew Thompson, THE CHICAGO READER
“As the first feature film to be directed by an out, black, lesbian filmmaker, it is significant not just for existing, but for its gaze.”
– Cate Young, THIRTY, FLIRTY + FILM
