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The Films of Cheryl Dunye

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thewatermelonwoman
The Watermelon Woman

1996: Berlinale (World Premiere, Teddy Award Winner)

The Watermelon Woman

The first feature-length film written and directed by a Black lesbian, THE WATERMELON WOMAN depicts Cheryl, a twenty-something Black lesbian working as a clerk in a video store while struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, a “forgotten” 1930s performer known as the Watermelon Woman, whose story proves to have surprising resonances with Cheryl’s own life as she navigates a new relationship with a white girlfriend (Guinevere Turner).

DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye

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theowls
The Owls

2010: Berlin; 2011: Palm Springs International

The Owls

An experimental thriller/film noir about four “Older-Wiser-Lesbians” who accidentally kill a young lesbian and try to get away with it. Screenplay is by Sarah Schulman, based on a story by Cheryl Dunye, and stars some of the most popular underground artists in Lesbian Cinema, including Guinevere Turner, V.S. Brodie, Lisa Gornick and Deak Evgenikos.

DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye

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blackisblue
Black is Blue

2018: Frameline (World Premiere)

Black is Blue

BLACK IS BLUE is a short narrative that tells the story of Black, an African American Trans man, who works as a security guard inside an apartment complex in present day Oakland, California. On the night of a ‘stud party,’ Black is forced to confront his pre-transition past, struggling to make his outside match his inside.

DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye

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theearlyworksofcheryldunye
The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye

The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye

Spanning 1990-1996, THE EARLY WORKS OF CHERYL DUNYE explores identity, race, culture, desire, sexuality, politics, family, and relationships, offering stories that fulfill what Dunye perceived was a lack of films about, and images of, African American lesbians.

DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye

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