SUNDAY 24/09 AT 11 a.m. – SALA SCALO AT NUOVO CINEMA NOSADELLA

IN COLLABORATION WITH CENTRO DI DOCUMENTAZIONE FLAVIA MADASCHI
Introduces the film Sara De Giovanni, director of CDOC Flavia Madaschi

Directed by Cheryl Dunye – USA, 2013
LESBIAN CULT – COMEDY, 90′

ENGLISH WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Translated by Chiara Masini

Cheryl Dunye’s feature debut sees the director in the role of herself, confirming the confessional style that characterizes her filmography. Determined to make a film about the beautiful 1930s black actress known as “The Watermelon Woman,” Cheryl ventures to discover her real name and her life, which surprisingly includes a romance with Martha Page, one of the rare Hollywood female records.
The film features protagonists of the American lesbian scene such as Guinevere Turner, Sarah Schulman, Camille Paglia.

DIRECTOR

Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye’s work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland California.

Dunye began her career with six short films, spanning from 1990 to 1994. These films are early examples of “Dunyementaries,” a blend of narrative and documentary techniques that Dunye describes as “a mix of film, video, friends, and a lot of heart.” These works explore themes of race, sexuality, family, relationships, whiteness, and the intricacies of white and black lesbian dating culture.

Her feature film debut was “The Watermelon Woman” (1996), an exploration of the history of black women and lesbians in film.

Dunye’s second feature is the HBO produced television movie “Stranger Inside” based on the experiences of African-American lesbians in prison.

Dunye’s short film “Black Is Blue” (2014) screened at over 35 festivals, after great traction and funding from the Tribeca Film Institute. The short film tells the story of an African American trans man, who works as a security guard inside an apartment complex in present-day Oakland, California. On the night of a ‘stud party,’ the guard is forced to confront his pre-transition past, struggling to make his outside match his inside.