Join us for an intimate evening as we screen The Watermelon Woman — a groundbreaking, genre-bending film that truly changed independent cinema forever. For nearly three decades, it has served as a touchstone, proof of our existence, and a radical act of self-documentation for Black queer women everywhere.

About the Film

When a young Black lesbian filmmaker named Cheryl (played by director Cheryl Dunye) begins researching a mysterious actress from 1930s Hollywood known only as "the Watermelon Woman," she uncovers a buried history and, in doing so, makes her own.

Why This Film

The Watermelon Woman holds an irreplaceable place in the history of Black lesbian representation on screen. As the first feature film directed by a Black lesbian woman, it gave voice to a community that Hollywood had long rendered invisible. The film doesn't just tell a queer love story — it demands that Black lesbian lives, desires, and histories be taken seriously as subjects of art. We are the keepers of our stories.