This film was originally selected as an AFI Movie Club pick on October 19, 2020. Directed, written by and starring Cheryl Dunye, THE WATERMELON WOMAN follows aspiring filmmaker and video store clerk Cheryl, self-referentially portrayed by Dunye, who embarks on a documentary project tracing the unwritten history of an unidentified Black actress spotted in a...

In honor of LGBTQ Pride Month, the AFI Catalog spotlights William Haines, the first openly gay American film actor, whose 47-year partnership with Jimmie Shields was once described by their friend, Joan Crawford, as the happiest marriage in Hollywood. Haines began life in Staunton, Virginia, where he was the third child of seven. Running away...

October marks the beginning of LGBTQ History Month and an opportunity to highlight the extraordinary contributions of the LGBTQ community within the film industry. PARIAH, the feature directorial debut of Dee Rees, chronicles a young Black woman discovering her sexuality and asserting her identity as she deals with the pressures of her family and society’s…