Award-winning filmmaker and television director Cheryl Dunye joins Rosie O'Donnell to discuss the groundbreaking film 'The Watermelon Woman', challenges in independent filmmaking, motherhood, and union strength.
Cheryl Dunye is a talented filmmaker and television director known for her groundbreaking style of filmmaking called Dunyementry.
The podcast conversation covered various topics including working on 'American Gigolo', motherhood, and the use of video conferences (vid-cons) in the industry.
Deep dives
The struggle of reconciling with a loved one's change in beliefs
Preston from Alabama shares the heartbreak of his mother's shift towards hateful beliefs, despite her original progressive and empathetic mindset. Living as a gay man in an area hostile towards the LGBTQ+ community has become increasingly difficult. Preston ponders leaving his hometown for a more accepting environment. He grapples with the question of whether to give up on the relationship with his mother, who now aligns herself with those who aim to harm him and his husband. He seeks advice on how to navigate this painful situation and wonders how others, including Rosie, would handle such a scenario.
Embracing art as a form of therapy and creative expression
Marrow shares their appreciation for art as a creative outlet and form of therapy, often finding solace and dissociation in creating various artistic projects. They inquire about Rosie's own artistic endeavors and what kind of art she is currently working on, whether it be sewing, painting, or a combination. Marrow encourages Rosie to share some of her artwork and expresses a desire to have a conversation while enjoying a cup of coffee.
This week's conversation is with the phenomenally talented Cheryl Dunye, an award winning filmmaker and television director. Rosie's love and respect for Cheryl's 1st film, 'The Watermelon Woman' (its groundbreaking style is now known as Dunyementry*) is the spark that ignites this gabfest.
But as all great conversations go; they wander thru just about every topic under the sun, including working together on the ill-fated 'American Gigolo', motherhood, being union strong, and vid-cons!
(*Dunyementary, is a hybrid of narrative, documentary, comedy, and autobiography style of filmmaking with a narrative that may not exactly be true but gives voice to real people and events that have never been represented)