Cheyenne Edwards Wants More for Queer Cinema: Meet The Mind Behind A Duel Between Dykes
Written by Daphne Bryant
Dykehood is messy, and the internet is even messier—a daunting place that can muddy ideas about what our very gay lives are“ supposed” to look like. This pressure to constantly perform curated digital identities, amongst other things, is what the upcoming film, A Duel Between Dykes, is all about.
Writer-director Cheyenne Edwards got the idea for A Duel Between Dykes at a house party two years ago:“ I was with my girlfriend at the time and I asked a [mutual] friend,‘ What if we went on a double date with our girlfriends? Wouldn’t that be fun?’” To that, her former friend replied:“ I don’t like double dates because I feel like I’m in competition with the other couple.” Talk about a crazy take, one that perfectly captures the strange emotional politics that can exist within queer social dynamics. The tension between intimacy, insecurity, and community ultimately became the foundation for the film itself.
A Duel Between Dykes aims to center all kinds of love amongst queers. Any avid consumer of queer media knows that most film and TV focus on romantic or sexual relationships, but exploring the nuances of platonic love—everything from emotional dependency to career envy—is less common. A Duel Between Dykes essentially fills the gap that this lack of representation has created.“ To really understand being queer, you have to understand that our friendships are everything to us. They’re potentially what keeps us off the streets, they’re [our] saving grace [and] very much [so] our anchor,” says Edwards. At the same time, queer friendships can be incredibly complex and are often difficult to navigate. Within the screenplay, Edwards teeters between multiple aspects of queerness so as to address the vastness of its scope.
“To really understand being queer, you have to understand that our friendships are everything to us. They’re potentially what keeps us off the streets, they’re [our] saving grace [and] very much [so] our anchor.”
Another big element of the film is race. In every screenplay she’s written so far, Edwards has made a very intentional decision to platform Black stories, and love that features Black women from all over the diaspora.“ There are [a lot of] Black queer people like me who long for Black love. If you’re raised in the Black community you grow up with this idea of Black love. You want it for yourself, but then you see depictions of Black love and it’s heterosexual, and then you see the queer depictions and they’re all Black and white, and it’s like: where am I supposed to be? You start to think that what you want is unattainable,” says Edwards. As someone who has experienced Black lesbian love and can attest that it is not only attainable but healing and beautiful, Edwards is on a mission to portray the truth.
“There are [a lot of] Black queer people like me who long for Black love.”
While Edwards took film classes at NYU and has written many scripts, A Duel Between Dykes is her first true introduction to filmmaking, her first big showcase for the world (and for herself).“ [This film] really showcases my humor, visual style, and morals,” says Edwards. It’s a satirical love letter portraying the nature of different lesbian relationships, and tackles phenomenons like performing on social media.“ I think, hopefully, [A Duel Between Dykes] will make us take a closer look at the content we’re consuming and really question it. Like,‘ is this rooted in the truth, or is this just for the theatrics, you know?’” This sort of performance, one rooted in archetypal stereotypes, is especially common amongst couples that broadcast their relationship online. At the thought of viral queer couples, Edwards playfully scoffs.“ I was in [a] relationship for two years, [and] I always got people being like,‘ you guys should start a couple account, you guys are so cute.’ But then I was like, [would] you want me to, like, post, we broke up? Make a whole video of me and her in the same room?!’” The idea just seems ridiculous to those of us normal folk. Not every relationship has to become aestheticized content, and the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
On our call Edwards reveals that there’s a big reveal dropped in the film, and she can’t wait to see people’s reactions:“ It has to do with assumptions based [on] looks in the queer and lesbian community. I feel like it does both challenge and play into [the idea of performance].”
Ludicrousness is another core component of A Duel Between Dykes, and while Edwards has always been a funny person, she only recently got into stand-up comedy and has since gone on to do open-mics and shows.“ In terms of storytelling, I feel comedy adds brevity, but also, if done tactfully enough, it adds commentary [and deepens] messages. I think a really good satire has something to say about [whatever] it’s poking fun at,” says Edwards. It’s true that the strength of humor lies in its adaptability, in its ability to disarm people while still delivering a sharp critique. Going into something like A Duel Between Dykes, I want to laugh and I want to be entertained, but I also want to leave feeling the impact of its themes and real-life social commentary. Naturally, the conversation led into dating culture and the dire state of Gen Z flirting and connection.“ We’re becoming a very social media-based society, to the point where you go out and people give you their Instagram instead of their number.”
“We’re becoming a very social media-based society, to the point where you go out and people give you their Instagram instead of their number.”
While social media can be a positive tool, and the global outreach it provides is undeniable, it can also be damning. For queer people coming into their own and looking to find their community, they may look at others on social media and think they’re missing out on something.“ [People are seeing] their favorite queer influencer go to all these parties every night, and collabing with other influencers, and they all look so funny [and] fashionable and chic and perfect. It kind of [makes you think],‘ oh, I have to look like this if I want to have this life. I have to engage with people who look like this if I want to have this.’” The gag is, even the influencers are comparing themselves to each other. It’s an endless cycle driven by likes, follower counts and sponsorships, and in Edwards’ opinion, it’s about time queer people got to the root of what queerness really is. She urges the queer community to forget all the glitz and glamour, embrace our authentic selves, and support one another.“ We’re showing up for the next up-and-coming party collective, but are we showing up [and engaging in] mutual aid for our queer and trans siblings? Are we making sure everybody’s taken care of? We’re concerned with who’s serving 4 plus 4, but are we concerned with who’s actually eating?” Edwards’ hypotheticals stuck with me even after our interview. She wasn’t just critiquing influencer culture, she was questioning what community really means. The performative nature of queer communities that live largely online has become more and more apparent with time. Currently, there is an insane amount of“ queer” influencers who make content that feels antithetical to what queerness is actually supposed to represent, and A Duel Between Dykes will directly address this. The film’s main characters are a TikTok-famous celesbian couple, Larissa and Logan, and Skye and Margo, a seasoned couple suffering from lesbian bed death. It excites me that all of these characters, topics and themes will be coming up in the film. Due to a fear of confrontation and self-reckoning, our flaws and weaknesses are something that many people don’t like to address. And yet, we need to be having these conversations with our friends, and with our partners.
“We’re concerned with who’s serving 4 plus 4, but are we concerned with who’s actually eating?”
I’m a firm believer that every writer has a favorite character (even subconsciously), and Edwards’ oscillates between Margo and Logan:“ Margo [is] so cool and uncompromised. She’s so herself, and she doesn’t [feel] the need to perform for people she doesn’t like. But then also, sometimes [my favorite is] Logan, because they’re so fucking funny and unpredictable.”
Edwards let me in on what the pre-production process has looked like thus far. For the table read, her team booked a room in a local art center, printed out the scripts, and went through it a couple of times, first top to bottom and then scene by scene. The repeated read-throughs gave the cast an opportunity to develop chemistry organically, long before filming was set to begin.
On April 21st, Edwards hosted a comedy show fundraiser for the film at Saint James Libations in Bushwick, a Black, queer and woman-owned wine bar. They raised over $1,300 in one night, a night filled with comedians that kept the laughs going. Up next, Edwards would like to do a dating show, maybe during PRIDE, and something educational as well, an event that promotes safe sex practices for queer couples.“ We’ll see what I can come up with,” says Edwards with a wink.
