The Watermelon Woman
Cheryl, a 25-year-old African-American lesbian, works at a video store in Philadelphia. She is very interested in films from the 1930s and 1940s, which feature Black actresses who are usually not credited by name. Plantation Memories is one such film. In it, the role of the mammy is played by a Black actress who is credited only as The Watermelon Woman. Cheryl decides to make a documentary about this actress. She wants to know who she was, what happened to her, and how she is doing now. The search is also an exploration of her own identity.
Why were Black, lesbian actresses erased from the history of early cinema? This is the question director Cheryl Dunye seeks to answer in her first feature film, the first feature film ever made by a Black lesbian woman. Dunye, who also wrote the screenplay, edited the film, and plays the lead role, approaches this mockumentary with a great deal of humor.
