The Watermelon Woman

The Watermelon Woman
Movie · LGBTQ · Comedy

'The Watermelon Woman' was the name given to the mythical Fae Richards, a beautiful yet elusive black Actress from the 1930's. In all her films, it was her only billing, why should that be? It is a mystery that perplexes Cheryl (Cheryl Dunye), a young black film maker. She sets out to solve the mystery by making a documentary about this forgotten star. The Watermelon Woman garnered great critical and audience acclaim, and contains the most notorious lesbian sex scene of its time, (which even saw the film being discussed in Congress). The film is a fiction, using spoof archive footage, but Cheryl Dunye says, "Sometimes you have to create your own history."

2018 · 1h 24m
  • 92%
Starring Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker
Director Cheryl Dunye

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Cast & Crew

  • Cheryl Dunye
    Cheryl
  • Guinevere Turner
    Diana
  • V‌W
    Valarie Walker
    Tamara
  • L‌M
    Lisa Marie Bronson
    Fae “The Watermelon Woman” Richards
  • Toshi Reagon
    Street Magician
  • Camille Paglia
    Herself
  • Sarah Schulman
    CLIT Archivist
  • V‌B
    V.S. Brodie
    Karaoke Singer
  • J‌T
    Jocelyn Taylor
    Stacey
  • Cheryl Dunye
    Director
  • B‌S
    Barry Swimar
    Producer

About

The Watermelon Woman

LGBTQ

'The Watermelon Woman' was the name given to the mythical Fae Richards, a beautiful yet elusive black Actress from the 1930's. In all her films, it was her only billing, why should that be? It is a mystery that perplexes Cheryl (Cheryl Dunye), a young black film maker. She sets out to solve the mystery by making a documentary about this forgotten star. The Watermelon Woman garnered great critical and audience acclaim, and contains the most notorious lesbian sex scene of its time, (which even saw the film being discussed in Congress). The film is a fiction, using spoof archive footage, but Cheryl Dunye says, "Sometimes you have to create your own history."

92%

TOMATOMETER
Average 7.2
Reviews 65
Fresh 60
Rotten 5

Information

Studio
First Run Features
Released
2018
Run Time
1 hr 24 min
Rated
15
Content Advisories
Violence, Criminal Activity, Nudity, Drugs or Drug Use, Sexual Content, Language, Smoking or Tobacco Use
Region of Origin
United States
© 1996

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (AAC)

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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
  • Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam

Europe

  • Armenia
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  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
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  • Finland
  • France (Français)
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  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg (English)
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  • Moldova, Republic Of
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Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
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  • Bermuda
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  • Cayman Islands
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  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
  • El Salvador (Español)
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala (Español)
  • Honduras (Español)
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  • Venezuela (Español)

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