Cheryl Dunye

Cheryl Dunye (/duːnˈjeɪ/; born May 13, 1966) is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. She is the daughter of Edith Irene Hamilton Dunye and George Kekura Dunye. She was born in Liberia, but shortly after, her family moved to Philadelphia. 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.