Watermelon Woman

Feast Festival

This incredibly incisive debut feature by Cheryl Dunye gave cinema something bracingly new and groundbreaking in 1996: a vibrant representation of Black lesbian identity by a Black lesbian filmmaker. Dunye stars as Cheryl, a video-store clerk and aspiring director whose interest in forgotten Black actresses leads her to investigate an obscure 1930s performer known as the Watermelon Woman, whose story proves to have surprising resonances with Cheryl’s own life. Celebrating it’s 30th anniversary, and still a highlight of the New Queer Cinema movement, this joyous comedy is a groundbreaking as ever.

Event Details

GENRE: Film

DURATION: 85 mins

AGE RATING: Ages 18 +

EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

CONTENT WARNING/S: Alcohol Use, Sexual References, Homophobia, Racism

SEATED OR STANDING: Seated

Access questions? Contact us at enquiries@feast.org.au

When: 14 November 2026 4.30pm

Where: The Piccadilly

Accessibility

Tickets

$20 - $24

About the presenter: Feast Festival

Feast Festival is South Australia's premier LGBTQIA+ Arts and Cultural celebration.

Now in its 29th year, Feast returns from 1 to 22 November 2026. Across 22 days, more than 1500 artists, producers, volunteers, and community members will deliver more than 110 events spanning burlesque, cabaret, drag, visual art, spoken word, comedy, film, music, and dance.

This year, we open with the theme JOY.

The 2026 program includes more free events than ever, with live music celebrating Adelaide's status as a UNESCO City of Music.

Feast is a celebration of culture and connection. Alongside the arts, you'll find trivia nights, drag bingo, roller derby, fashion parades, erotic pottery, Dungeons & Dragons, and more.

Feast is a platform for discovery and daring, with half the program featuring new work, creative developments, or South Australian premieres. These artists are taking risks to share their stories; now it's our turn to show up, engage, and celebrate them.

Let's Feast.

Website: https://www.feast.org.au/

Image Description: Film still from Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman (1996). Two women sit together on cushions, laughing, in a room full of cardboard boxes and framed artworks. One holds a glass of red wine, the other a cigarette.

Feast Festival acknowledges that we gather, create and celebrate on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people.
We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise First Nations peoples as the original storytellers, artists and custodians of this land.
We honour and respect queer First Nations communities, including Sistagirls and Brothaboys, and recognise the enduring connection between culture, identity, community and Country.
Sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.