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The Watermelon Woman

TEDDY 40 2026
© Cheryl Dunye / JTF
Cheryl is a young Black lesbian who aspires to make movies and works in a video store. Researching the representation of Black lesbians in film history, she stumbles upon a bit player in the southern melodrama “Plantation Memories” identified in the opening credits as “The Watermelon Woman”. With interviews and snippets of found footage, Cheryl figures out who she really was: Fae Richards, a singer popular on the Philadelphia club circuit, who had a relationship with the film’s white director, although the latter’s sister denies it. Cheryl hopes for answers from Fae’s long-term lover who, however, is well advanced in years …
Director Cheryl Dunye sensuously weaves together elements of queer media studies with her heroine’s crush on a white academic. At the same time, her mockumentary delivers a profound example of bringing your own story into a film, with a fictional narrative about an “erased” minority. Meanwhile, her interviews, including with feminist icon Camille Paglia at the (fictional) Center for Lesbian Information and Technology, or CLIT, most definitely simulate serious-mindedness. The Watermelon Woman won the Teddy award for best narrative feature at the 1996 Berlinale.
by Cheryl Dunye (Director, Screenplay)
with Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valerie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson, Cheryl Clarke, Irene Dunye, Brian Freeman, Ira Jeffries, Camille Paglia USA 1996 English 83' Colour Rating R 0

TEDDY 40

The Watermelon Woman celebrated its Berlinale premiere in the 1996 Panorama.

With

  • Cheryl Dunye
  • Guinevere Turner
  • Valerie Walker
  • Lisa Marie Bronson
  • Cheryl Clarke
  • Irene Dunye
  • Brian Freeman
  • Ira Jeffries
  • Camille Paglia

Crew

Director Cheryl Dunye
Screenplay Cheryl Dunye
Cinematography Michelle Crenshaw
Editing Annie Taylor
Music Bill Coleman
Sound Design Jack A. Mehlbaum
Production Design Robert Holtzman
Costumes Solomon Wise
Casting Keelyn Bradley
Producers Alexandra Juhasz, Barry Swimar
Executive Producer Michael Light

Additional information

DCP: The Film Collaborative Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Preservation funded by 13th Gen, Outfest, The Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation, TIFF, First Run Features and Yves Averous.

Photos

Cheryl Dunye

© Cheryl Dunye / JTF

Born in Liberia in 1966, she grew up in Philadelphia, USA. Her films, which have screened at numerous festivals, include Black Is Blue which won a host of international awards. In 2012, her queer comedy Mommy Is Coming was selected for the Berlinale Panorama. She has been focusing on directing serial formats since 2017.

Filmography (selection)

2014 Black Is Blue; short film · Brother from Another Time; short film 2012 Mommy Is Coming 2004 My Baby's Daddy 2000 Stranger Inside 1996 The Watermelon Woman 1994 Greetings from Africa; short film 1993 The Potluck and the Passion; short film 1991 She Don't Fade; short film 1990 Janine; short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026