# The Watermelon Woman
**The Watermelon Woman** is a 1996 American comedy-drama written, directed, and co-starring Cheryl Dunye, in which a young Black lesbian filmmaker in Philadelphia researches a forgotten 1930s Black actress credited only as "the Watermelon Woman." It is widely identified as the first US feature directed by an out Black lesbian, and it became a landmark of the New Queer Cinema movement of the 1990s.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/watermelon-woman-cheryl-dunye) • [2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1996; US theatrical release March 5, 1996, distributed by First Run Features[3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_watermelon_woman) |
| Distinction | First theatrically released feature directed by an out Black lesbian filmmaker; first African American lesbian feature released theatrically in the US, a distinction it held until *Pariah* (2011)[5](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/) • [2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman) |
| Award | Teddy Award for Best LGBT Film at the 1996 Berlin Film Festival[2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman) |
| Budget | $300,000, partly financed by a National Endowment for the Arts grant and private donations[5](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/) |
| Setting | Philadelphia, in the mid-1990s video-store and lesbian-community world[6](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Watermelon_Woman_092823.pdf) |
| Title source | A reference to Melvin Van Peebles's 1970 comedy *Watermelon Man*[5](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/) |
| Restoration | Restored in 2K HD by the UCLA Film & Television Archive for the film's 20th anniversary[7](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=watermelon-woman-2026) • [6](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Watermelon_Woman_092823.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and form
Cheryl, played by Dunye as a fictionalized version of herself, works as a video store clerk and wants to make a film about Black women, "because our stories have never been told."[8](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6980-turn-the-gaze-around) Her subject is an obscure Black actress of the 1930s and 1940s who appears in the fictional film *Plantation Memories* playing a "mammy" role and is billed only as "the Watermelon Woman." As Cheryl researches, she discovers the actress had a name, Fae Richards, and a life the credits erased, including a long-term relationship with her white female director, Martha Page.[8](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6980-turn-the-gaze-around) • [9](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/122022--creating-her-own-history/)
The film deliberately blurs documentary, fiction, and autobiography. Dunye interweaves direct-to-camera storytelling, improvised interviews with Philadelphians, and faux-archival footage, a style she has called the "Dunye-mentary."[2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman) Alongside the research plot runs a romantic comedy: Cheryl is courted by Diana ([Guinevere Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinevere-turner)), a white customer at the video store, a relationship that echoes the one Cheryl uncovers between Richards and Page.[8](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6980-turn-the-gaze-around) • [1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/watermelon-woman-cheryl-dunye) The closing credits state the film's thesis plainly: "Sometimes you have to create your own history."[9](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/122022--creating-her-own-history/)
## The invented archive
Because the Watermelon Woman is fictional, Dunye and the New York artist [Zoe Leonard](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoe-leonard) had to manufacture the historical record the story requires. Together they created a convincing Fae Richards archive of movie stills, glamour shots, film clips, and newsreel footage.[10](https://www.perisphere.org/2024/08/02/slacker-noir/) Leonard exhibited the collection at the Whitney Museum Biennial in 1997 and published the stills in a book.[5](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/)
The fabrication had a practical origin. When Dunye researched Black film history at the [Lesbian Herstory Archives](https://www.edgepedia.org/lesbian-herstory-archives) and the Library of Congress, she found she could not afford to license relevant documents for the film, so she invented the lineage the archives lacked.[3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cheryl-dunye-watermelon-woman-20161127-story.html) Dunye has said the character "came from the real lack of any information about the lesbian and film history of African-American women."[6](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Watermelon_Woman_092823.pdf) The confusion the film produces was part of its point: at early screenings, some audiences believed the fake documentary was a real account of an actress called the Watermelon Woman.[12](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/f7ca9afb-82c2-002a-a423-84e111d5b498/ad192c7e-7e88-4c6f-8687-77be42f3c911/978-1-4780-1916-9_601.pdf?auto=format&fm=webp&lossless=true)
The film's account of the research process is also a critique of archives. Cheryl's efforts are frustrated by a series of white gatekeepers: a librarian who assumes she cannot read, a white lesbian community archive that mishandles its rare Black lesbian materials, and police who profile her in the street.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/watermelon-woman-cheryl-dunye)
## The NEA controversy
The film's lesbian love scene drew national political attention. After its premiere, a Washington Times op-ed by Julia Duin objected to federal funding for a film that a Philadelphia City Paper review had praised for containing "the hottest dyke sex scene ever recorded on celluloid."[3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) Citing that article, Republican representative Peter Hoekstra called for the National Endowment for the Arts budget to be cut by the exact amount of the film's grant, $31,500, accusing the film of depicting graphic sexual and illegal acts. Democratic representative [Sheila Jackson Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheila-jackson-lee) defended the film on the House floor, and Hoekstra eventually withdrew his amendment, but the episode contributed to major cuts to the NEA.[3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) Frameline's program notes record that the film was debated in Congress and drew the opposition of Senator Jesse Helms, as Marlon Riggs's *Tongues Untied* had before it.[2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman) AFI notes that the controversy resulted in a restructuring of the NEA.[5](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/)
## Reception and legacy
Critics received the film well on its wide release in 1997. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 92% critics score from 66 reviews, with a critics' consensus calling it "an auspicious debut for writer-director Cheryl Dunye" that "tells a fresh story in wittily irreverent style."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_watermelon_woman) Metacritic records a Metascore of 74.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-watermelon-woman/critic-reviews/) Its US box office gross was about $1,500.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_watermelon_woman)
Its standing has grown with time. The film is part of the [Museum of Modern Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/museum-of-modern-art)'s film collection, was screened there in 2025, and in 2021 received the Legacy Award at the Cinema Eye Honors.[14](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/10352) • [3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) The UCLA restoration brought anniversary screenings at venues including the [Hammer Museum](https://www.edgepedia.org/hammer-museum) and BFI Southbank, and the film is now regularly taught and screened in repertory.[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cheryl-dunye-watermelon-woman-20161127-story.html) • [7](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=watermelon-woman-2026) • [3](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it) Director Janicza Bravo, selecting it for a Time list of essential Black cinema, called it "required viewing" for film schools.[15](https://time.com/5874175/black-cinema-essential-movies/) Dunye's own summary of the film's message, three decades on: "You have to make your own history."[16](https://blog.teddyaward.org/en/news/teddy-40-retrospektive-the-watermelon-woman-mit-regisseurin-cheryl-dunye/)
Reported running times differ across sources: 81 minutes (Rotten Tomatoes), 84 minutes (MoMA), 85 minutes (BFI), and 90 minutes (Frameline).[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_watermelon_woman) • [14](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/10352) • [7](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=watermelon-woman-2026) • [2](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman)
## References
1. [The Watermelon Woman at 25: the Black lesbian classic that wears its brilliance lightly, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/watermelon-woman-cheryl-dunye)
2. [The Watermelon Woman, Frameline festival page](https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline36/the-watermelon-woman)
3. [The Watermelon Woman: Faking It/Making It, Cassie da Costa, Criterion Collection (2023)](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8196-the-watermelon-woman-faking-it-making-it)
4. [The Watermelon Woman, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_watermelon_woman)
5. [AFI Movie Club: The Watermelon Woman, American Film Institute](https://www.afi.com/news/afi-movie-club-the-watermelon-woman/)
6. [The Watermelon Woman 20th Anniversary press kit, The Film Collaborative](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Watermelon_Woman_092823.pdf)
7. [The Watermelon Woman, BFI Southbank screening page](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=watermelon-woman-2026)
8. [Turn the Gaze Around, Michael Koresky, Criterion Collection (2020)](https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6980-turn-the-gaze-around)
9. [Creating her own history, ACMI collection](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/122022--creating-her-own-history/)
10. [Slacker Noir, Perisphere (2024)](https://www.perisphere.org/2024/08/02/slacker-noir/)
11. [Director Cheryl Dunye on her groundbreaking LGBTQ film 'The Watermelon Woman,' 20 years later, Los Angeles Times (2016)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cheryl-dunye-watermelon-woman-20161127-story.html)
12. [Jennie, Sarah (ed.), chapter on The Watermelon Woman, Duke University Press excerpt](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/f7ca9afb-82c2-002a-a423-84e111d5b498/ad192c7e-7e88-4c6f-8687-77be42f3c911/978-1-4780-1916-9_601.pdf?auto=format&fm=webp&lossless=true)
13. [The Watermelon Woman critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-watermelon-woman/critic-reviews/)
14. [The Watermelon Woman. 1996. Directed by Cheryl Dunye, MoMA](https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/10352)
15. [24 Essential Works of Black Cinema Recommended by Black Directors, Time (2020)](https://time.com/5874175/black-cinema-essential-movies/)
16. [TEDDY 40 Retrospective: The Watermelon Woman with Director Cheryl Dunye, Teddy Award blog](https://blog.teddyaward.org/en/news/teddy-40-retrospektive-the-watermelon-woman-mit-regisseurin-cheryl-dunye/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1995 to 1999 › Black and satirical comedies › Released 1995 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license