A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
- Awards
- 4 wins total
Cheryl Clarke
- June Walker
- (as Cheryl Clark)
Kat L Robertson
- Yvette
- (as a different name)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to writer/director Cheryl Dunye, much about the character she plays in the film is autobiographical, but the historical references to the Watermelon Woman are fictional: "The Watermelon Woman came from the real lack of any information about the lesbian and film history of African-American women. Since it wasn't happening, I invented it."
- GoofsCheryl (Cheryl Dunye) appears to make a slight fluff of her lines during a dinner scene with Diana, Tamara and Stacey, saying: "Anyway, Diana, if you came to Philadelphia to shape... escape the cold Chicago winters..."
However, as the dinner conversation is deliberately uncomfortable, this is possibly intended.
- Crazy creditsThe film, which seems to be a documentary about Cheryl's search for the obscure actress who inspired her, ends with these printed words: "Sometimes you have to create your own history. The Watermelon Woman is fiction. Cheryl Dunye, 1996"
- Alternate versionsIn 2016, director Cheryl Dunye's landmark Black Queer Film THE WATERMELON WOMAN was re-released in select theaters and festivals with a pristine 2K HD restoration overseen by the production company 13th Gen, in partnership with Modern Videofilm. The restoration and re-release was sponsored by First Run Features, the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, and the Toronto International Film Festival. This theatrical tour will be followed by a DVD re-release in early 2017.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)
Featured review
The Watermelon Woman is a unique film that's part fictional documentary and part drama with just a bit of comedy thrown in too. The movie is mainly focused on black lesbians in philly and follows one of them making a documentary on a famous black lesbian from the 30s. Going into this film I thought that I as a straight white guy wouldn't get much out of the film, but I was wrong. This film has a compelling story and powerful message anyone can learn from, just don't take your kids there is some slight nudity in the film, but other than that it's a must watch for everyone.
- Pyro_Pizza
- Mar 17, 2021
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,989
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $774
- Nov 13, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $1,989
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
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