Cheryl Dunye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cheryl Dunye
Dunye in 2016
Born	(1966-05-13) May 13, 1966 (age 59) Liberia
Alma mater	Temple University (BA) Rutgers University (MFA)
Occupation	Filmmaker actress
Years active	1990–present
Children	2
Awards	1995: Media Production Award; National Endowment for the Arts etc

Cheryl Dunye (born May 13, 1966) is a talented filmmaker, producer, writer, and actress. She is from both Liberia and America. Her films often explore important ideas about different cultures and people's identities. She also runs her own film company called Jingletown Films in Oakland, California.

About Cheryl Dunye

Early Life and Education

Cheryl Dunye was born in Monrovia, Liberia. She grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She first studied political theory at Michigan State University. She wanted to make a positive difference in the world.

She soon learned that making films could be a powerful way to share her ideas. So, she switched to filmmaking at Temple University in Philadelphia. She earned her first degree from Temple University. Later, she got a master's degree from Rutgers University. For her final project at Temple, she made her first video. It was a collection of images, like newspapers, set to a poem.

Filmmaking Career

Cheryl Dunye started her career by making six short films. These films are now available together on DVD. Her early films often mixed real-life events with made-up stories. She called this style "Dunyementaries." She described them as a mix of film, video, friends, and a lot of heart. These early works explored themes like culture, family, and relationships. Dunye often starred in these films herself.

Dunye presenting The Watermelon Woman at Radar Reading Series at the San Francisco Public Library (2016)

Her first full-length movie was The Watermelon Woman (1996). This film looked into the history of black women and lesbians in movies. Dunye found it hard to find information about black actresses in old films. Many times, these actresses were not even given credit.

To fill this gap, Dunye created a made-up character named Fae Richards. She then built a fictional history for this character. This way, Dunye used storytelling to highlight missing parts of film history. The film's title is a nod to Melvin Van Peebles's film The Watermelon Man. In 2016, The Watermelon Woman was restored and shown widely again. It is now part of the permanent film collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Dunye's second feature film was Stranger Inside (2001). This HBO movie was about the experiences of African-American lesbians in prison. The film had a budget of $2 million. It was shown in theaters and on HBO.

Her short film Black Is Blue (2014) was shown at over 35 film festivals. It received funding from the Tribeca Film Institute. In 2004, she directed My Baby's Daddy. This movie starred Eddie Griffin, Michael Imperioli, and Anthony Anderson.

She also directed The Owls (2010), which she co-wrote with Sarah Schulman. This film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2010, another script she co-wrote, Adventures in the 419, was chosen for a special program. This film is about 419 scams among immigrants in Amsterdam. A TV show based on it is being developed.

Her romantic comedy Mommy is Coming (2012) was nominated for an award. Dunye has also shown interest in adapting books by famous authors like Octavia E. Butler and Audre Lorde.

Television Directing

In 2017, Cheryl Dunye started directing for television. She directed episodes of Ava DuVernay's show Queen Sugar. This was part of DuVernay's effort to help more female directors work in TV. Dunye directed two episodes in the second season. In 2019, she became the Producing Director for season four of Queen Sugar.

She has directed many other TV shows, including:

• Claws (TNT)
• The Fosters (Freeform)
• Love Is (OWN)
• The Chi (Showtime)
• Star (FOX)
• Dear White People (Netflix)
• David Makes Man (OWN)
• All Rise (CBS)
• Delilah (OWN)
• Lovecraft Country (HBO)
• Y: The Last Man (FX)
• The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

Teaching

She has taught filmmaking at many universities. These include UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, Pitzer College, Claremont Graduate University, Pomona College, California Institute of the Arts, The New School of Social Research, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and San Francisco State University.

Influences and Style

Influences

Dunye has been inspired by many filmmakers. Some of these include Jim McBride, Charles Burnett, Chantal Akerman, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, and Godard.

She also looks up to literary figures like Harriet Ann Jacobs, Toni Morrison, and Audre Lorde. She has noted that her work often reminds people of the experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer. For her film Stranger Inside, she was greatly influenced by the novel Imitation of Life.

Filmmaking Style

In her film Stranger Inside, Dunye blended real-life documentary elements with fictional storytelling. Some of the background actors in the film were actual former inmates. The movie was first planned as a documentary. However, Dunye felt that a story-based approach would better suit the topic.

Personal Life

Cheryl Dunye has two children. As of 2012, she lives with her spouse in Oakland, California. In 2018, Dunye started her production company, Jingletown Films. It is named after the Jingletown neighborhood in Oakland where she once lived. The company aims to support storytellers and filmmakers who are people of color or from the LGBTQ+ community. It provides a space for diverse artists to share their voices.

Selected Filmography

Director

Film

• Janine (1990) (Short, Experimental Documentary)
• She Don't Fade (1991) (Short, Experimental Documentary)
• An Untitled Portrait (1993) (Short, Video Montage)
• Greetings from Africa (1995) (Short)
• The Watermelon Woman (1996) (Narrative Feature)
• Stranger Inside (2001) (TV Movie)
• My Baby's Daddy (2004) (Narrative Feature)
• The Owls (2010) (Thriller)
• Mommy is Coming (2012) (Romantic Comedy)
• Black Is Blue (2014) (Short)

Television

Actress

• She Don't Fade (1991) as "Shae Clark"
• Greetings from Africa (1995) as "Cheryl"
• The Watermelon Woman (1996) as "Cheryl"
• The New Women (2000) as "Phaedra"
• The Owls (2010) as "Carol"
• Mommy is Coming (2012) as "Cabby"
• Dropping Penny (2018) as "Alpha Donna"

Editor

• She Don't Fade (1991)
• The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Writer

• She Don't Fade (1991)
• The Watermelon Woman (1996)
• Stranger Inside (2001)
• Turnaround (2002)
• The Owls (2010)
• Mommy is Coming (2012)
• Black is Blue (2014)
• Brother from Another Time (2014)

Awards and Recognition

Cheryl Dunye has received many awards for her work, including:

• 1991: Fine Cut Winner Independent Images
• 1995: Media Production Award from the National Endowment for the Arts
• 1995: Vito Russo Filmmaker Award
• 1996: Audience Award at LA Outfest for The Watermelon Woman
• 1996: Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for The Watermelon Woman
• 1997: Biennial Anonymous Was A Woman Award
• 2001: Audience Award at LA Outfest for Stranger Inside
• 2001: Audience Award from the Philadelphia Film Festival for Stranger Inside
• 2002: Lifetime Achievement Award from Girlfriends magazine
• 2004: Community Vision Award from the National Center for Lesbian Rights
• 2016: The Guggenheim Fellowship Award
• 2020: Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series at the Black Reel Awards for Television for Dear White People
• 2022: Cinema Eye Legacy Award for The Watermelon Woman
• 2023: Brudner Prize, Yale University

See also

In Spanish: Cheryl Dunye para niños

• List of female film and television directors
• List of lesbian filmmakers
• List of LGBT films directed by women