The 'Watermelon Woman' was the name given to a beautiful yet elusive black actress from the 1930s. Why was this her only billing? It is a mystery that perplexes Cheryl, a young black filmmaker based in Philadelphia, so she sets out to solve it by making a documentary about this forgotten star. Her research takes her to the depths of a terrifying 'lesbian archive' and to the heights of academia, with the irrepressible Camille Paglia giving an impromptu lecture on the hidden meaning of watermelons.

"The sort of film Spike Lee would make if he were both smarter and a dyke" - LA Weekly