A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Directed by Cheryl Dunye
philadelphia, pennsylvania
pennsylvania, usa
mockumentary
race
lgbt
found footage
woman director
black history
black lgbt
philosophical
old hollywood
lesbian
filmmaker
adoring
celebratory
vibrant
Rank
#15 in 1997·#705 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
4.1 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Cheryl Dunye
Cheryl
Guinevere Turner
Diana
Cheryl Clarke
June Walker
Alexandra Juhasz
Martha Page
Camille Paglia
Self
Sarah Schulman
CLIT Archivist
David Rakoff
Librarian
Jocelyn Taylor
Stacey
Gail Lloyd
Diana's Black Date
Crew
Cheryl Dunye
Director
Cheryl Dunye
Writer
Cheryl Dunye
Editor
Alexandra Juhasz
Producer
Gail Lloyd
Casting Director
Gail Lloyd
Boom Operator
Christine Vachon
Thanks
Popular Reviews
997 reviews
rattzz
8.0★ · 05/08/26
i love her speech into the camera at the end. i absolutely love the story of this movie and they way it was filmed. c.l.i.t archives!
i love her speech into the camera at the end. i absolutely love the story of this movie and they way it was filmed. c.l.i.t archives!
1
sam
7.1★ · 06/17/25
i love this so much, cheryl you deserve the worlddd
it's a good reminder of how much lesbian history was swept under the rug, never forget and do build community!
i love this so much, cheryl you deserve the worlddd
it's a good reminder of how much lesbian history was swept under the rug, never forget and do build community!
vyri
8.4★ · 01/18/25
og video essay about the history of black and queer women with a touch of vlogging, it’s such a genius movie
og video essay about the history of black and queer women with a touch of vlogging, it’s such a genius movie
danny
8.7★ · 07/10/23
this forever and fucking ever. i too am a lesbian filmmaker trying to figure out what i'm doing and what it's all about. she's just like me... FR!!! [everything around me explodes]
this was so delightful and insightful. i could watch hours of cheryl's video store antics and documentary clips and vintage photos. no one's going to tell our stories unless we do it.
this forever and fucking ever. i too am a lesbian filmmaker trying to figure out what i'm doing and what it's all about. she's just like me... FR!!! [everything around me explodes]
this was so delightful and insightful. i could watch hours of cheryl's video store antics and documentary clips and vintage photos. no one's going to tell our stories unless we do it.
