LGBTQ festival favorite “The Watermelon Woman” is heading back to to the cinema with a makeover, Shadow and Act reports. First Run Features has announced the re-release of writer-director Cheryl Dunye’s influential queer film, which has been remastered for its 20th anniversary. This newly minted version of the film will screen at Metrograph in NY beginning November 10, followed by a DVD and VOD release January 31, 2017.
“The Watermelon Woman” centers on Cheryl (Dunye), a young, lesbian black woman who pays her bills as a video store clerk and by filming professional home videos. What Cheryl would really like to do is make films, and she has one particular project in mind. After watching a film titled “Plantation Memories” with a black actress credited as “The Watermelon Woman,” Cheryl decides to find out more about the mysterious woman by making a documentary about her.
Back in 1996, “The Watermelon Woman” scored the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival. It also won the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Feature at LA’s Outfest.
Dunye’s other films include “Black is Blue,” “Mommy is Coming,” “The Owls,” “My Baby’s Daddy,” and “Stranger Inside.”
Watch the original, lengthy trailer for “Watermelon Woman” below, and check out a poster for the re-release.
