The Watermelon Woman

"Sometimes you have to create your own history."

Mar 5 1997 Unrated 1h 30m
Comedy, Drama, Romance

A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.

Plot

Cheryl is young, Black, and lesbian, working in Philadelphia with her best friend Tamara and consumed by a film project: to make a video about her search for a Black actress from Philly who appeared in films in the 30s and was known as the Watermelon Woman. Following various leads, Cheryl discovers the Watermelon Woman's stage name and real name and surmises that the actress had a long affair with Martha Page, a White woman and one of Hollywood's few female directors. As she's discovering these things, Cheryl becomes involved with Diana, who's also White. The affair strains Cheryl's friendship with Tamara. More discoveries bring Cheryl (and us, her audience) to new realizations.

Written by

Cheryl Dunye, Douglas McKeown

Directed by

Cheryl Dunye

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Dancing Girl

Languages

English

Awards

4 wins

Scores
# of Votes
4,132
Average Rating
7.1 out of 10
Metascore
74
Popularity
NA