The Watermelon Woman
Date & Time
Location Main Campus | Kinder Building
Drop off at Kinder Building
Film Information
| Theater | Lynn Wyatt Theater |
| Directed by | Cheryl Dunye |
| Year | 1996 |
| Length | 90 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Email Your Questions [email protected]
The Watermelon Woman
Date & Time
Location Main Campus | Kinder Building
Drop off at Kinder Building
Film Information
| Theater | Lynn Wyatt Theater |
| Directed by | Cheryl Dunye |
| Year | 1996 |
| Length | 90 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
An investigation into film history that doubles as a romantic comedy, The Watermelon Woman is a dazzlingly inventive landmark of the New Queer Cinema and the first U.S. feature directed by Cheryl Dunye. A fledgling filmmaker, played by Dunye herself, sets out to make a documentary about Faith Richardson, a lost cinematic ancestor glimpsed in 1930s race films. Playfully switching between 16mm film and a grainy 1990s videotape aesthetic, Dunye intertwines slices of everyday life with black-and-white archival bits about Richardson.
A live Zoom Q&A with filmmaker Cheryl Dunye follows the screening.
Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by 13th Gen, Outfest, the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation, TIFF, First Run Features, and Yves Averous.
Email Your Questions [email protected]
The MFAH film department is supported by Tenaris; the Vaughn Foundation; The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea; Nina and Michael Zilkha; Consulate General of Italy in Houston; Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles; Consulate General of Brazil in Houston; Franci Neely; Carrin Patman and Jim Derrick; Ms. Laurence Unger; L’Alliance Française de Houston; and ILEX Foundation.