The Joy of Positivity: The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Filmmaker Cheryl Dunye made history just by being herself and sharing her truth.

Groundbreaking films don’t get more modest than Cheryl Dunye’s seminal 1996 directorial debut, The Watermelon Woman. The charming independent romantic comedy made history as the first film directed by an out black lesbian. Dunye’s acclaimed movie world comedy follows closely in the footsteps of similarly slight but important independent landmarks like Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Robert Townsend’s Hollywood Shuffle, and Rose Troche’s Go Fish. Dunye makes the most of a tiny budget and small crew to tell a deeply personal story about a demographic both under and misrepresented in Hollywood films.