Celebrating 30 years since its release, we invite you to this special screening of The Watermelon Woman, written and directed by Cheryl Dunye, the 2026 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence. Dunye will be joined by the film’s producer, Alexandra Juhasz for conversation. (Distinguished Professor of Film at Brooklyn College, CUNY).
Video clerk/filmmaker Cheryl Dunye, fixated on the career of a Hattie McDaniel-type character actress of the 1930s, finds herself on a comic fact-finding mission. Director Cheryl Dunye sensuously weaves together elements of queer media studies with her heroine’s crush on a white academic. “A wonderfully inventive journey through the annals of film history, African American culture, dyke attitudes, race relations and the mysteries of lesbian attraction. Did I mention this is a comedy, too?”—B. Ruby Rich. The Watermelon Woman won the Teddy award for best narrative feature at the 1996 Berlinale. With Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson, and Cheryl Clarke. 1996. Approximately 90 minutes.
Schedule of Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Events
Spotlight Q&A with Cheryl Dunye, 2026 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence
Tuesday, March 10
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
John L. Tishman Auditorium
63 Fifth Avenue
This event is open to the public
Master Class with Cheryl Dunye, 2026 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence
Wednesday, March 11
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Bob and Sheila Hoerle Lecture Hall - Room L105
63 Fifth Avenue
RSVP
Open to all students and alumni
30th Anniversary screening of The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Wednesday, March 11
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium - Room 101
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
66 Fifth Avenue
This event is open to the public
RSVP on this page
Presented by the School of Art, Media, and Technology's MA Media Studies Program at Parson's School of Design
New School students seeking accommodations should contact the Student Disability Services office at studentdisability@newschool.edu.
Event guests seeking accommodations may contact the event organizer by clicking the "Contact the Organizer" link at the bottom of this page.
Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American director, producer, and writer who emerged as part of the "queer new wave" of young filmmakers of the 1990s. She has made over 15 films, including MOMMY IS COMING, THE OWLS, MY BABY’S DADDY, and HBO’s STRANGER INSIDE, which garnered her an Independent Spirit award nomination for best director. Her feature film, THE WATERMELON WOMAN (1996), won the Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival and was recently restored by Outfest’s UCLA Legacy Project for the film’s 20th anniversary. In 2015, Dunye’s multi-award-winning short film, BLACK IS BLUE (2014), was named one of the top five “Must See Feminist Films” by IndieWire. Dunye has directed many episodic series, including Ava Duvernay’s QUEEN SUGAR, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, BRIDGERTON, and LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, for which her “Strange Case” episode received a 52nd NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and has been named one of the best episodes in 2020 by The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Tonight.
Dr. Alexandra Juhasz teaches, makes, and studies committed media practices that contribute to political change and individual and community growth. She has a PhD in Cinema Studies from NYU and is the author of AIDS TV (Duke, 1995), WOMEN OF VISION: HISTORIES IN FEMINIST MEDIA (Minnesota, 2001), F IS FOR PHONY: FAKE DOCUMENTARY AND TRUTH’S UNDOING with Jesse Lerner (Minnesota, 2005), LEARNING FROM YOUTUBE (MIT Press, 2011), THE BLACKWELL COMPANION ON CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTARY with Alisa Lebow (2016), with Yvonne Welbon, SISTERS IN THE LIFE: 25 YEARS OF OUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN LESBIAN FILMMAKING (Duke 2018), AIDS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF CRISES with Jih-Fei Cheng and Nishant Shahani (Duke 2020), and REALLY FAKE with Nishant Shan (U MN Press, 2021). She is the producer of educational videotapes on feminist issues from AIDS to teen pregnancy and the feature films THE WATERMELON WOMAN (Cheryl Dunye, 1996) and THE OWLS (Dunye, 2010). Her personal website is: Alexandrajuhasz.com.
The Masters of Art in Media Studies program of the School of Art, Media, & Technology in Parsons combines media theory, research, and production studies, preparing students to contribute to a complex and rapidly changing media landscape. Studying in the world’s media capital, New York City, our students acquire critical insights and technical skills in rigorous topical courses taught by leading scholars and creative professionals. Our alumni find careers in a wide range of fields, from media curating and communications to film and media-making to media research and scholarship to industry leadership and innovation.
The Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Program was established by the late New School Trustee, Dorothy Hirshon, to honor and promote excellence and education of the filmmaking arts at The New School. Past Dorothy H. Hirshon Artist-in-Residence include Ernest Dickerson (2025), Christine Vachon (2024), Sam Pollard (2021). Mary Harron (2020), Raoul Peck (2019), and Sean Baker (2018) .
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