The ever-charming African American writer/director/actor Cheryl Dunye stars as an aspiring documentary filmmaker researching the life of an obscure black Hollywood actress from the 1930s (“The Watermelon Woman”). In her singular “Dunye-mentary” style, Dunye interweaves direct-to-camera storytelling and faux-documentary with a smartly observed fictional tale of lesbian life and love in contemporary Philadelphia.

The film co-stars the fabulously sexy Guinevere Turner (Go Fish, The L Word) as Dunye’s sassy love interest. The Watermelon Woman achieves a genre-bending mix of humor, romantic chemistry, artistic depth and socio-political analysis — exploring race, sexuality and history in one fell swoop and featuring an amazing cast that also includes appearances by: Camille Paglia, Sarah Schulman, Brian Freeman, Cheryl Clarke, and Toshi Reagon!