Reviews of the Watermelon Woman (dir: Cheryl Dunye, 1996)

 

There are too many response to this film and its director, Cheryl Dunye, to capture here. These occur in every media venue and with different themes since its release in 1996. At that time, it got quite a bit of press because of its status as the first African American lesbian feature film and also because of the failed attempt to defund it as part of the Republican project of killing the NEA. It’s re-master and re-release in 2016 (which I produced with Cheryl and others) also warranted press (and an academic conference), as did its 2022 acquisition by Criterion following its 2021 inception in to the National Film Registry. It is on lots of best-of lists, reflecting Cheryl’s intersectional reach: queer, films, Black films, lesbian films, woman’s films.

This interview with Cheryl with NPR in 2023, captures a lot of the film’s ride and her journey. It’s been a delight to watch its reception (by scholars, fans, critics, cineastes) over these many years, and to watch Cheryl’s career and reach grow.

 

A small number of these responses include my role as producer (working at that time with Barry Swimar) or actor (as Martha Page), including the chapter “Producing Black Lesbian Media,” by Candace Moore from Sisters in the Life (Juhasz and Welbon, eds, Duke, 2018). Cheryl and I co-wrote a piece about inter-racial themes in the film; and much of my work on fake documentaries and then later, fake news, is centered in my commitments to and lessons from this early project. The work of the producer is always behind the scenes (unless a work is self-reflexive, so you do see “me” as a fake white woman producer, Martha Page). But for me, every reflection of the Watermelon Woman is a response to themes, people, forms, and communities I believe in.

 

  Go to The Watermelon Woman
 

Topics: Black Queer/Lesbian Media |  Fake Documentary | 

 

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