The James Robert Brudner ‘83 Prize, established in 2000, is awarded annually to an accomplished scholar, artist, or activist whose work has made significant contributions for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and sexual minority communities. The Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies, and the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies faculty are honored to present this prize to Cheryl Dunye for 2023-24.

Cheryl Dunye is a world renowned Director, Writer, Producer, and Founder of Jingletown Films. Dunye first emerged as part of the “Queer New Wave” of young filmmakers in the early 1990s with her first feature film, The Watermelon Woman, winning the Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. She is currently best known for her directing work on shows including OWN’s Queen Sugar, TNT’s Claws, Freeform’s The Fosters, OWN’s Love Is_, Showtime’s The Chi, Netflix’s Dear White People, CBS’s All Rise, HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Dunye’s Brudner Prize Lectures will take place:

in New Haven on Thursday, October 26 at 5:00 PM in LORIA 251 (190 York Street), and

in New York City on Friday, October 27 at 5:00 PM at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (208 West 13th Street).