Film / News
Cables & Cameras and Bristol Kino Club team up for 25th anniversary screening of The Watermelon Woman
Back in 1996, Cheryl Dunye made history with the first feature film written and directed by a black lesbian. She also cast herself in the lead role of The Watermelon Woman as a Philadelphia video rental store worker and aspiring filmmaker whose real passion is her documentary film project about a forgotten black actress from the 1930s who was mostly cast in ‘mammy’ roles and credited only as The Watermelon Woman.
In her quest to discover the woman’s real identity, Cheryl is told that her real name was Fae Richards and that she was a lesbian who was in a relationship with the white director of a film named Plantation Memories. As she continues to dig deeper into Fae’s story, Cheryl embarks on a relationship of her own with a cute white customer at the video store.
The Watermelon Woman toured the international film festival circuit in 1997 and was generally well received by critics. The Los Angeles Times described it as a “wry and exhilarating comedy, at once romantic and sharply observant”.
is needed now More than ever
To mark this groundbreaking film’s 25th anniversary, Cables & Cameras and the Bristol Kino Club are joining forces to bring it back to the screen at the Cube Cinema on November 29. Go here for tickets.
Image credit: Peccadillo Pictures
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