The Watermelon Woman
1997 · Movie · 1h 25m
DramaComedyRomance
"Sometimes you have to create your own history."
Overview
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Ratings
IMDb
7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes
92%
Metacritic
74/100
Key crew
- Cheryl DunyeDirector
- Cheryl DunyeWriter
- Paul ShapiroOriginal Music Composer
Cast
- Cheryl DunyeCheryl
- Guinevere TurnerDiana
- Valarie WalkerTamara
- Lisa Marie BronsonFae "The Watermelon Woman" Richards
- Cheryl ClarkeJune Walker
- Irene DunyeSelf
- Brian FreemanLee Edwards
- Ira JeffriesShirley Hamilton
- Alexandra JuhaszMartha Page
- Camille PagliaSelf
- Sarah SchulmanCLIT Archivist
- V.S. BrodieKaraoke Singer
Stills
Movies like The Watermelon Woman
Shows like The Watermelon Woman
Off Campus
2026
Spider-Noir
2026
Chronicles of the Sun
2018–2025
The Rookie
2018–2026
Grey's Anatomy
2005–2025
Law & Order
1990–2025
Game of Thrones
2011–2019
Supernatural
2005–2019
Themes
philadelphia, pennsylvaniapennsylvania, usamockumentaryracelgbtfound footagewoman directorblack historyblack lgbtphilosophicalold hollywoodlesbian