Director: Cheryl Dunye
Running Time: 90 mins
Release Date: November 10th 2016 (US Cinema), January 17th 2017 (US DVD/VoD)
Oftentimes when movies try to tackle serious issues, you end up with a film that’s leaden, tedious and not as smart as it thinks it is. However, The Watermelon Woman manages to wrap its pertinent, intelligent and thought-provoking ideas about things such as sexuality, gender and race in a movie that’s light-hearted, entertaining and often quite funny, but still with an sense of anger running through it that still resonates.
The film would be notable just for being the first movie directed by an openly lesbian, African-American filmmaker. However, it’s not just getting a 20th Anniversary re-release, remaster and excellent restoration because of that, but also due to the fact its maintained its relevance, reputation and a fanbase that loves it. [Read more…]