The Watermelon Woman

A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.

Cast

Cheryl Dunye

as Cheryl

Guinevere Turner

as Diana

Valarie Walker

as Tamara

Lisa Marie Bronson

as Fae "The Watermelon Woman" Richards

Cheryl Clarke

as June Walker

Irene Dunye

as Self

Brian Freeman

as Lee Edwards

Ira Jeffries

as Shirley Hamilton

Alexandra Juhasz

as Martha Page

Camille Paglia

as Self

Reviews

CinemaSerf

In some ways this makes for quite an intriguing docu-drama on the historic roles of African American woman in cinema as the silents gave way to the talkies. Back then, many a cast member, regardless of race or sex, was given a simple title or bit part to avoid them being paid more than absolutely ne...

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