The Watermelon Woman (1997)
March 5, 1997Release Date
The Watermelon Woman (1997)
March 5, 1997Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Watermelon Woman is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, Showtime Apple TV Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Vudu, Kanopy
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Cheryl Dunye
Cheryl / Director / Writer / Editor
Guinevere Turner
Diana
Valarie Walker
Tamara
Lisa Marie Bronson
Fae 'The Watermelon Woman' Richards
Cheryl Clarke
June Walker
Irene Dunye
Self
Camille Paglia
Self
Toshi Reagon
Street Magician
Sarah Schulman
CLIT Archivist
Gail Lloyd
Diana's Black Date / Casting Director / Boom Operator
Shelley Olivier
Annie Heath
Christopher Ridenhour
Bob
David Rakoff
Librarian
Brian Freeman
Lee Edwards
Douglas McKeown
Writer
K. Brent Hill
J.J. Liberty / Extras Casting
Barry Swimar
Producer
Michelle Crenshaw
Director of Photography
Cate Wilson
Co-Producer
Paul Shapiro
Original Music Composer
Alexandra Juhasz
Producer
Robert Holtzman
Production Design
Luciana Moreira
Costume Design
Stacey Byers
Set Decoration
Solomon Wise
Costume Design
James R. Ford Jr.
Sound Editor / Associate Editor
Magali Taylor
Sound Editor / Additional Editor
Jack A. Mehlbaum
Sound Recordist
Mike Lemon
Casting
Michael Light
Executive Producer
Annie Taylor
Co-Executive Producer / Editor
Burke Moody
Co-Executive Producer / Post Production Supervisor / Additional Editor
Joy Malinowski
Associate Producer
Bill Coleman
Music Supervisor
Sharon Stein
Production Manager
Renae Dinnerman
Assistant Director
Ted Shields
Second Assistant Director
Elenie Mansalis
Second Assistant Director
Michael LaCorte
Second Second Assistant Director
Tim Downs
Location Manager
Missy Moyer
Location Manager
Sonya Klimuk
Script Supervisor
Duana C. Butler
Production Coordinator
Kevin Boyle
Assistant Camera
Christopher Leo Daniels
Second Assistant Camera
Andrew Reed Conner
Gaffer
Jeff Kahn
Best Boy Grip
Stephen C. Rocamboli
Music Coordinator
S. Madison Bédard
Music Coordinator
Dave Rainey
Boom Operator
Sarah Vogt
Wardrobe Assistant
Keelyn Bradley
Casting
Sharon Levin Cohen
Casting
Pamela Turchin
Production Office Coordinator
Justiana Birzin
Craft Service
Evan Jackson
Media.
Details.
Wiki.
The Watermelon Woman is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Cheryl Dunye. The first feature film directed by a black lesbian, it stars Dunye as Cheryl, a young black lesbian working a day job in a video store while trying to make a film about Fae Richards, a black actress from the 1930s known for playing the stereotypical "mammy" roles relegated to black actresses during the period.
The Watermelon Woman was produced on a budget of $300,000, financed by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as well as a fundraiser, and donations from friends of Dunye. The film was partly inspired by and dedicated to the memory of such Black actresses as Louise Beavers, Hattie McDaniel, and Butterfly McQueen. Fae Richards is a fictional character created by Dunye for the film as both an amalgamation of and stand-in for Black actresses sidelined or forgotten in film history, and as a result of the film's budget being unable to afford archive footage of real-life actresses.The Watermelon Woman premiered at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. The film received generally positive reviews and is considered a landmark in New Queer Cinema. It garnered controversy for a lesbian sex scene that prompted a writer for The Washington Times to question its NEA funding, which in turn led to the NEA restructuring their grant system. In 2021, The Watermelon Woman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".