The Watermelon Woman

In person: Post-screening conversation with filmmaker Janicza Bravo and film editor Joi McMillon, moderated by Erica Chidi, writer, producer, and strategist.

In person: Post-screening conversation with filmmakers Nisha Ganatra and Fawzia Mirza.

In person: post-screening conversation with screenwriter Troy Byer.

Spike Lee’s Girl 6 follows an aspiring actress who, after struggling to find success, takes a job as a phone sex operator. The film resonates with the thematic and stylistic concerns of playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, known for her experimental narratives and sharp interrogation of Black womanhood. Her framework deepens the film’s engagement with identity, performance, and agency. Infused with Prince’s evocative soundtrack and shot with Lee’s signature vibrancy, Girl 6 interrogates the fine line between self-expression and exploitation in an industry that thrives on both.

Preceded by Bounded Intimacy 

Part of the It’s Just Business, Baby trilogy of Super 8mm shorts, Bounded Intimacy examines the histories of various forms of body labor across the Chelsea and Tribeca districts that were renowned as a site for sex work, sex clubs, and illicit sexual activity.

Adapted from a note by the filmmaker.

DIRECTED BY: Ayanna Dozier. 2024. 6 min. USA. Color. DCP.