an introduction to cherly dunye

New Queer Cinema was a movement that defined filmmaking of the nineties. Identities once mocked and closeted were at the centrepiece of the indie scene, and they were not bound to the stereotypical roles once afforded to queer characters. These stories were politically charged, made to poke at the establishments who oppressed queer people, and to provoke change on a wider scale.

Written by: Inés Cases-Falque | Filed Under: Film Blog

Whilst independent cinema, by definition, may only be viewed by a limited demographic, filmmakers like Todd Haynes and Gus Van Sant managed to accumulate mainstream recognition for their contributions to the movement, and continue to represent the LGBTQ+ community in their films to this day.

Queer characters were given voices, amplified by the queer filmmakers behind the scenes, and there are few figures that embodied the defiance of this decade better than Cheryl Dunye.

Born in Liberia and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dunye harboured an interest in socio-political issues as a university student. But she discovered that it was through filmmaking that her beliefs as an activist were best translated.

Short Films of Cherly Dunye

As a student at Rutgers University, Dunye was already making a name for herself. Despite little funding opportunities, she made three experimental short films: Janine (1990), She Don’t Fade (1991), and Vanilla Sex (1992). This trio of work involved a mishmash of autobiographical and fabricated storytelling – behind the scenes, she had built a crew of friends, family, and lovers, some of which even played a role in front of the camera as well, often keeping their real names for whichever character they played. Dunye specialised in blurring the line of fiction and non-fiction, a filmmaking term she called ‘Dunyementary’.

Janine remains her most prolific short work of the three. With a runtime of only nine minutes, it depicts Dunye in front of the camera, narrating a story about a white middle-class girl in her high school class called Janine Sorelli. Dunye secretly had a crush on Janine for three years, and when she finally came out to her, Janine’s mother offered to get her psychological help.

Dunye talks us through this story as if her audience were a friend she was catching up with over a cup of coffee; her personable approach not only allows her to speak to people’s empathy, but also to their vulnerability. She makes films with the knowledge that people like her, especially black lesbians, will find her films and be able to relate to them, a kind of representation that was almost never present onscreen.

With many of her short films, Dunye’s goal was to educate and familiarise her audience with black lesbians and black queer culture. It’s worth noting that whilst the new queer wave saw a new appreciation for queer life on film, there are very few examples of black queer life portrayed, as many of the filmmakers behind the camera were white gay men.

Paris Is Burning (1990) is probably the best example of black queerness on screen in the nineties, though the film was made by Jenny Livingston, a white woman, was criticised for not compensating the subjects of her film appropriately. Other media critics, including bell hooks, criticised the work as a piece of voyeurism for the white gaze’s pleasure, instead of work empowering the black queer people onscreen.

Unlike Livingston, Dunye is almost always present in front of the camera in her films, especially her earlier works. It’s as if she acknowledges that she is a part of the culture that she is shedding a light on, an aspect of black queerness that Livingston simply cannot relate to due to her whiteness.

THE Watermelon Woman (1996)

In 1996, Dunye released her feature debut, The Watermelon Woman (1996), which played in several festivals around the world. The festival circuit was typical of many independent films at the time, but the film’s subject matter and cultural significance was far from typical. It is considered the first feature film directed by a black lesbian and is widely known by film critics and fans as a landmark release amongst the New Queer Cinema movement.

The Watermelon Woman tells the story of Cheryl, played by Dunye herself, a black lesbian who works in a video store in the bustling city of Philadelphia. The Dunyementary elements of the film are clearly established; Dunye blends reality and fiction to create a semi-autobiographical work. Cheryl seeks to reveal the identity of the Watermelon Woman, a black actress she has become fascinated by after watching a fictional film from the 1930s called Plantation Memories.

Whilst her curiosity leads her to meet with film critics and theorists, she also begins a relationship with Diana (played by Guinevere Turner), a white lesbian that she meets at work, much to the dismay of her friend and coworker, Tamara (played by Valarie Walker). As Cheryl’s relationship blooms and friendship fractures, the film sees her come closer to understanding her own self, both as a lesbian and a black woman, and the intersectionality that weaves her identity together.

Dunye’s ability to remain unapologetic in her position as a queer filmmaker was nothing less than groundbreaking. Dunye understands that her identity is central to her filmmaking, and essential to her art and life. Rather than try to separate herself from her identity to appease to fictional storytelling, she strives to balance fabrication and truth. For example, in the film, Dunye emphasizes the importance of art – and film, especially – as a medium of conserving important untold stories. She uses Cheryl’s character as a mouthpiece for her own real-life thoughts, another example of the Dunyementary technique she pioneered.

Conclusion

Dunye’s presence in the indie film scene was, unfortunately, an anomaly rather than a trend; in 1998, The Watermelon Woman was shown on the Sundance Channel and was the only film directed by a woman to be screened that month. Though it remains Dunye’s most decorated and well-known work, its impact is not as recognised compared to her peers. The film has seen a growing appreciation for not only its subject matter, but also the filmmaking techniques employed by Dunye to distinguish her from her peers stylistically.

The film’s effort to highlight the erasure of black women in historical narratives and media is, perhaps, an ironic representation of its own lack of commemoration. Whilst other New Queer Cinema icons such as Haynes and Van Sant have gone on to build celebrated and well-rewarded careers in mainstream cinema, Dunye is remembered by others as a true emblem of missing representation, and a revolutionary of storytelling.

Whilst her presence in the arts continues, she now accumulates credits as a television writer and director for series’ such as Queen Sugar (2016-2022), Dear White People (2017-2021) and Lovecraft Country (2020), all shows that grapple with themes of racism, sexism, and classism within the black community and beyond.

But with new works being re-discovered and lauded by younger generations of cinephiles, The Watermelon Woman could someday enjoy a surge in popularity. Its preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021 may be a telling of its future remembrance.

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Author

Written by Inés Cases-Falque. A passionate film academic, writer, and cinephile who has contributed as a writer to blogs and film journals since her graduation. A founder, writer, and leading editor for Lancaster University’s CUT TO Film Journal, she mainly takes interest in the French New Wave, Nordic cinema, Japanese horror, and post-Franco Spanish political cinema. You can follow Inés on Instagram and Letterboxd.