1991, video, B&W, sound
Curated by Jamillah James

Flamingo Club (former site)
219 2nd Avenue
2PM - 6PM

Cheryl Dunye is a contemporary of Tom Kalin and Sadie Benning. The three heralded a "New Queer Wave" of cinema in the early 90s. This frank documentary-style discussion of sexuality and sociality is reminiscent of Shirley Clarke's Portrait of Jason, or Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It. A rare, candid glimpse into black urban lesbianism, with Dunye assuming the role of "Shae," the central character.

Cheryl Dunye received her BA from Temple Univeristy and her MFA from Rutgers Univserity's Mason Gross School of the Arts. Dunye has received numerous nationa and international honors for her work in the media arts Her third feature film, My Baby's Daddy, was a box office success and played at theaters nationwide. Dunye's second feature, the acclaimed HBO Films, Stranger Inside, garnered Dunye an Independent Spirit award nomination for best director in 2002. Dunye wrote, directed and starred in her first film which was the first African American lesbian feature film, The Watermelon Woman. It was awarded the Teddy Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and best feature in LA's OutFest.

219 East 2nd Avenue is the site of the former Flamingo Club, an upscale West Village bar/restaurant, which served as the last home of the "Clit Club," a celebrated lesbian party. The Clit Club was originally hosted by Mother at 432 West 14th in the Meatpacking District. The final party was hosted on August 17, 2001.