The Watermelon Woman

Dir. Cheryl Dunye. U.S. 1996, 90 mins. DCP. With Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Cheryl Clarke. For her wildly assured and wonderful 1996 feature, multihyphenate Dunye dives into a meta-cinematic world of cultural history, self-interrogation, cinematic dialectics, and sex and romance. While working a humdrum job at a video store, aspiring filmmaker Cheryl (played by the director) discovers a newfound interest in a forgotten Black (possibly lesbian) actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age who was relegated to mammy roles. At the same time, her archival search coincides with her budding relationship with a white woman (Turner). Cheryl’s conflict within herself, both as an artist and as a Black lesbian, reveals one of the funniest and most entertaining studies of how desire and otherness are formed on film.  

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.