The Glo Movie Night: The Watermelon Woman (1996)
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes. (NR, 84 min.)
Showtimes
Saturday, August 8, 2026
4:00 PM
Join us for our quarterly GLO Center Movie Night event on Saturday, July 18 at 4:00 PM. This FREE event is brought to you by The GLO Center as part of our mission to foster connection and celebrate LGBTQ+ stories.
Cheryl Dunye made cinematic history with The Watermelon Woman, the first American feature to be directed by a black lesbian as well as an incisive, humorous critique of classic Hollywood's racist stereotypes. Dunye plays an eponymous video store employee and burgeoning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary on the Watermelon Woman (Lisa Marie Bronson), an actress who specialized in "mammy" roles for Hollywood productions of the 30s and 40s. As Cheryl uncovers the Watermelon Woman's identity she not only learns about a secret behind-the-scenes interracial romance but also begins one of her own with Diana (Guinevere Turner), a white woman who arouses the ire of Cheryl's best friend Tamara (Valerie Walker). A landmark of the New Queer Cinema, The Watermelon Woman testifies to the power of excavating legacies of oppression and in the process creates a progressive legacy of its own. [Janus]
Starring: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker
Director: Cheryl Dunye
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
"Seldom have cultural analysis and sexual/racial politics been so entertaining."
— Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix
"Dunye's smart and poignant twisting of history makes the film a timeless statement."
— Calum Baker, Radio Times
"They don’t get much more groundbreaking than Cheryl Dunye’s landmark of queer cinema."
— Andrea Thompson, Chicago Reader
"In one fell swoop, Dunye has managed to entertain, educate, and make a political statement."
— Sheila Reid, Women in the Life
"The Watermelon Woman is an enduring classic whose mere existence — even today — still feels like a miracle."
— Michael Cuby, them.
"With its loose, quasi-documentary style, The Watermelon Woman comes off as a charming slice of latter-day black lesbian life."
— Marianne Dresser, Bay Area Reporter
"It gives us something we don't see much of in film -- young black women claiming their space and sharing it with the rest of us."
— Rosalind Bentley, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Funny and smart, full of biting humor and astute observations about identity and history, Cheryl Dunye's audacious, joyous debut feature captures the process of falling hopelessly in love with the movies."
— Serena Donadoni, Village Voice
"An era-defining work, and an oft-overlooked queer cultural touchstone that feels somehow warmhearted and urgent - as confident and assured an artistic statement as any directorial debut you're likely to find."
— Mattie Lucas, From the Front Row
"A quarter of a century later, The Watermelon Woman suggests that ’90s indie is a genre unto itself. ... For those who came of age as cineastes during that era, it’s a nostalgic nod to that gritty aesthetic and an important milestone in New Queer Cinema."
— Annlee Ellingson, CineWomen
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