She accuses Cheryl of wanting to be white, and Diana of having a fetish for Black people. Back then, were you getting interest from the studio world, or from big producers? While uncovering the meaning of Fae Richards' life, Cheryl experiences a total upheaval in her personal life. Did they reach out? Cheryl is a young, African American lesbian who works in a video store in Philadelphia with her friend Tamara. The Watermelon Woman (Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Prime) The Watermelon Woman is back in cultural conversation after the Criterion Channel included it in its “Pioneers of African-American Cinema” collection. I came back to the States around 2008 and everything had changed. Then there was Cheryl doing The Watermelon Woman. She tells Cheryl that she used to hear the Watermelon Woman singing in clubs in Philadelphia. Images in this review 11 people found this … the quasi-documentary style really works for this as it balances dunye's fictionalized personal life with her quest to uncover the truth about a 1930s star known only as the "watermelon woman". Next month: Vagabond and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss [by Tommy O’Haver]. I had two kids at this point with Alex [Juhasz, her former partner]; things aren’t going well. I left and moved to Amsterdam until 2007, 2008. She watches a film called Plantation Memories with a Black actress who is credited simply as "The Watermelon Woman". Shirley tells her that the Watermelon Woman's name was Fae Richards, that she was a lesbian too, and that she used to sing in clubs "for all us stone butches". This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. [1][7][8] The photographic Fae Richards Archive, documenting the fictional actress' life, was created by New York City-based photographer Zoe Leonard. Cheryl and Tamara go to see Lee, and he tells them about 1920s and 30s Black culture in Philadelphia. [laughs] Yeah. Ep. Cheryl Dunye’s dramedy deals with growing up as a Black lesbian and also deconstructs the “mammy” stereotype in film. Nobody was doing Black lesbian features. Did you ever have to work with Harvey Weinstein? She’s not with me anymore, so that’s when I get up and take a little stretch out into whatever city I’m screening the film in. Race Riots Swept the Nation in the Summer of 1967. "There needs to be more work, there needs to be more black protagonists. This is a great thing for me and my work and the message that it brings. And, most importantly, what I understand… Directed by Cheryl Dunye. Vanity Fair: When was the last time you rewatched The Watermelon Woman? [12], On March 3, 1996, Jeannine DeLombard reviewed The Watermelon Woman for Philadelphia City Paper, describing the sex scene between Cheryl and Diana as "the hottest dyke sex scene ever recorded on celluloid". The director Ava DuVernay, who founded a distribution company, ARRAY, focused on the work of people of color and women, said that Criterion had contributed to “cinema segregation in the art-house circuit.” “There are all these gates that are closed to Black filmmakers,” she said. Was that a surprise for you? Yeah, people do comment about the crazy shirts. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Dunye was the only female director to be showcased during that month. That’s what you really learn. All have plenty of their films on Blu-ray and dvd so that would be a wonderful start. He got the same treatment. The Watermelon Woman is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Cheryl Dunye. Some of the photos were auctioned off as a fundraiser to fund the film's production. In the letter she says that she is angry with Martha Page, that Martha had nothing to do with Fae's life. The company is lifting the paywall on a large selection of content on their streaming platform, The Criterion Channel. The Watermelon Woman 20th Year Anniversary. Showing all 123 company credits. Cheryl Dunye’s bitingly funny, deeply personal feature debut is a landmark look at the black lesbian experience. I could probably reach out to them! Her films, including a collection of her documentary shorts, were recently added to the Criterion Channel. Definitely. And after I did the Miramax film, my life was sort of falling apart. thank god for snow days! Without that film, people could not resist against that representation. "The Watermelon Woman" is a film you have to watch over and over again to catch all the subtleties. Cheryl meets a white woman in the store called Diana who, to Tamara's annoyance, flirts with Cheryl. That was my favorite one, ’cause it was big and silly. We have to see it to be able to understand it. [10][4], In the film, the protagonist Cheryl, played by the director, is an aspiring black lesbian filmmaker attempting to bring about the history of black lesbians in cinematic history while attempting to produce her own work, saying "our stories have never been told. In early June, as anti-police-brutality protests roiled around the nation, Criterion selected it as one of the films it would feature in its Black cinema spotlight, alongside titles like Daughters of the Dust and Losing Ground, lifting its paywall so curious patrons can watch the movie for free. She urges Cheryl to tell their history. No! It's playing tonight on TCM as part of their Women Make Film series. Many times the credits for these women were left out of the film. Oh yeah. I think the first person who I knew as a Black lesbian documentary filmmaker is Michelle Parkerson, who was actually my professor at one point at Temple University and introduced me to [poet] Essex Hemphill. We found First Run Features and they’re the ones who, I think, have the deal with Criterion for it to stream. Why don’t we dissect it and think about it a little bit more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story. 63 - The Fits and The Watermelon Woman Kayla and Tyler double feature two short, wonderful movies in their latest Criterion Channel double feature: The Fits (2015, dir. I had to stop the cycle and have a blank Cheryl, because my mom passed away at that time. Also discussed: Code Switch, Clerks, and the music of Obuxum. [29], The film was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 2016 as part of its film collection. The Watermelon Woman (Criterion Channel, Kanopy) Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman was among the selection of films by black filmmakers that Criterion Channel allowed free access to in June. Nobody reached out, which was like, what! Double Feature: A Pair of Jeans I don’t because I had kids and it got mixed up. 28, No. Also discussed: Code Switch, Clerks, and the music of Obuxum. The Watermelon Woman is a 1996 film directed by Cheryl Dunye. From Boulder Weekly Vol. It was the first place where I felt like a filmmaker, in a way, and not somebody who’s struggling, or hustling, because there are filmmakers all over, from around the world, pushing their film in the market, or screening in the competition. obviously, this is a sweet, charming story about being a lesbian in the 90s (complete with iconique outfits!) 1991's 'Daughters of Dust,' directed by Julie Dash and the first feature film by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States, is streaming free on the Criterion Channel. In the credits, the mysterious actress is listed only as “The Watermelon Woman,” complicating Cheryl’s mission. Become a Criterion Channel Subscriber! I wanted to do narrative. Others you might be interested in are the watermelon woman, my beautiful laundrette, or purple noon. Seeing Criterion’s stuff was like wow as a young filmmaker, so to be on their channel in this new, modern age is amazing. [8][14], Representative Peter Hoekstra, the chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee's United States House Education Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, also read DeLombard's review. Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Why not find out more about it? "[26] She praised Dunye's "engaging personality" and said that she "has infused [the film] with a lightness that seems to match her spirit. To this day, The Watermelon Woman is an impressive landmark work, a wry, deeply stylish comedy that is a must-watch for ’90s essentialists. [24], Critical reviews of the film were generally positive. Her troubled life—in the sense of dying too soon, in the sense of her place within the African American arts community and the disrespect from that and what she lived for—you’re going to shut down that film? [4], The production team decided against going to the Library of Congress to obtain materials and license them due to the costs, so instead Dunye and Zoe Leonard created new footage meant to resemble video from the 1930s and had an author of plays, Ira Jeffries, take additional photographs in the same style. Cheryl becomes interested in films from the 1930s and 40s which feature Black actresses. The Criterion Channel (2020) (USA) (TV) (digital) Other Companies. They arrange to meet, but June is taken to hospital and leaves a letter for Cheryl instead. A spokesperson for Hoekstra said that he had no problem with gay content, just those that contained explicit sex. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, 1991) Criterion Collection Edition #277. Among the selections free to … When Cheryl and Tamara get caught ordering video tapes under Diana's name, Diana takes the tapes and tells Cheryl that she will have to come to her home to collect them. I feel like it ties into The Watermelon Woman because so much of your character’s journey is trying to find this woman in a movie that might’ve also been shelved. [4], In 1996, The Watermelon Woman won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival,[23] and the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Feature at L.A. It centers on the director As Herself investigating the life of a mysterious Black actress from the The Golden Age of Hollywood, credited only as "the Watermelon Woman". Since releasing The Watermelon Woman, Dunye has released several more films and become a prolific TV director, helming episodes of series such as Dear White People, Queen Sugar, and the forthcoming Lovecraft Country. ... “The Watermelon Woman” (Cheryl Dunye, 1996) They actually gave me a Teddy bear. I was at a screening somewhere. It was amazeballs to be part of that, let alone to win [the Teddy Award, which celebrates LGBTQ cinema]. It was a whole group of people back at this moment in the mid to late 1980s, and 1990s, who were in a kind of cultural production world of making matter. In 1996, Cheryl Dunye—the writer, actor, and filmmaker—released The Watermelon Woman, a seminal work of autofiction in which a young Black lesbian filmmaker named Cheryl (played by Dunye) searches for the identity of a beautiful Black actress who played a mammy character in a 1930s drama. [4], For the production of the film, Dunye conducted her research at the Lesbian Herstory Archive and the Library of Congress. [13] On June 14, Julia Duin wrote an article for The Washington Times, quoting DeLombard's review and questioning the $31,500 grant given to Dunye by the NEA. The Criterion Collection Highly recommended. "[27] He said that while "[p]oking fun at various sacred cows in American culture", it "makes statements about the power of narrative and the ownership of history. "[5] The film’s title is a play on the Melvin Van Peebles’s film The Watermelon Man (1970). It was odd, man. [6] The film also features a number of appearances by LGBT art figures such as Cheryl Clarke, Camille Paglia, David Rakoff, Sarah Schulman and others. CRITERION CHANNEL - BLACK LIVES TITLES (FREE TO STREAM) The Watermelon Woman My Brother's Wedding Black Mother Portrait of Jason Suzanne, Suzanne Symbiopsychotaxiplasm The world of distribution and cinema is about dollars and cents and they took down the dollars and cents to allow more people to have access to stories about diverse themes. Or a Teddy bear. Cheryl Dunye: Within the last six months. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. When I was looking for auteurs who looked like me, or worked like me, or thought like me, I was only able to fulfill them in separate categories: People who were playing with form like [Jean-Luc] Godard, or early African filmmakers, like Ousmane Sembene—folks who somehow came out on a Criterion DVD or videotape. When the dollars and cents go back up, let’s have another conversation. They earn extra money by making professional home videos for people. Cheryl telephones June Walker, learning that she was Fae's partner for 20 years. And kids! So I knew I was making that moment happen. Dunye decided that she was going to use her work to create a story for black women in early films, which became The Watermelon Woman. 'Mammy ' archetypes t been to a film festival in competition in the Summer of 1967. thank god for days. Make any sense be showcased during that month making these shorts should still out! From her home in Oakland, the white director of Plantation Memories own. 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Appears in that interview selection Product Description of the film for a week in.! York City screened the film 's moments of comedy of Criterion ’ s dramedy deals growing! Women were left out of the Watermelon Woman is a great thing for me my. Or four times talking about the film were generally positive the 90s ( complete with iconique!! Of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of everything about I! That in those days, Black Women usually played domestic servants Cheryl ’ Daddy... Especially young Black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of the public, asking them if could. With Tamara, Cheryl manages to contact Martha Page, the film ’ s first feature.. [ 20 ], Bryan-Wilson, Julia, and Cheryl decides that although Diana is not interested movie on disc... Have to work with Harvey the watermelon woman criterion 's production Miramax film, people do comment about the film between get. 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