The Watermelon Woman (1996)

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Cast

Credited cast:
	Cheryl Dunye	...	Cheryl
	Guinevere Turner	...	Diana
	Valarie Walker	...	Tamara
	Lisa Marie Bronson	...	Fae 'The Watermelon Woman' Richards
	Cheryl Clarke	...	June Walker
	Irene Dunye	...	Herself
	Brian Freeman	...	Lee Edwards
	Camille Paglia	...	Herself
	Sarah Schulman	...	CLIT Archivist
	V.S. Brodie	...	Karaoke Singer
	Shelley Olivier	...	Annie Heath
	Toshi Reagon	...	Street Magician
	Emmy Collins	...	Video Browser
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Mickey Goldhaber	...	Featured
	K. Brent Hill	...	J.J. Liberty

See full cast »

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Storyline

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 <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Genres:

Drama

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1997 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Arbuziarka See more »

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dancing Girl See more »

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

See full technical specs »

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene from the faux-archival 1930s film, "Plantation Memories", was directed by Douglas McKeown and co-written by McKeown and Cheryl Dunye See more »

Quotes

Cheryl: Hey! Hey, you're Martin Pumphrey!
Street Magician: No ma'am, I'm a magician.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The 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" See more »

Connections

References Juke Joint (1947) See more »

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User Reviews

a fantastic movie

4 September 2004 | by junecatpower (california) – See all my reviews

The movie centers around a young African-American lesbian,who is researching

a old time actress nicknamed"The Watermelon Womam"who is very similar to

her.This is a good film documentary.Ms.Dunn does a good job filming the movie along with making it work with the cast. This movie doesn't come up short to me,and serves its purpose.it never gets off the storyline,and has one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.The director challengers both race and sexuality makes this film more remarkable.Dealing

with the fact that she is having a relationship that is straining her friendship because of race. The director takes us into her point of view.Her lifestyle.Her way of thinking.And most of all,her life.Also learning about a woman who like her,had a inter race relationship,and who also was an actor.

4 of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

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