Watermelon Woman

This incredibly incisive debut feature by Cheryl Dunye gave cinema something bracingly new and groundbreaking in 1996: a vibrant representation of Black lesbian identity by a Black lesbian filmmaker. Dunye stars as Cheryl, a video-store clerk and aspiring director whose interest in forgotten Black actresses leads her to investigate an obscure 1930s performer known as the Watermelon Woman, whose story proves to have surprising resonances with Cheryl's own life. Celebrating it's 30th anniversary, and still a highlight of the New Queer Cinema movement, this joyous comedy is a groundbreaking as ever.