Daughters of the Dust

Showings

Rafael 1 Fri, Oct 14, 2016 7:30 PM
Tribute to Julie Dash
Film Info
Section:US Cinema
Special Screening
Mind the Gap
Country:US
Year:1991
Running Time:112 min.
Director:Julie Dash
Producer:Julie Dash
Arthur Jafa
Lindsey Law
Screenwriter:Julie Dash
Cinematographer:Arthur Jafa
Editor:Amy Carey
Joseph Burton
Cast:Barbara-O
Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Cora Lee Day
Alva Rogers
Adisa Anderson
Kaycee Moore
Print Source:Cohen Film Collection
Note Writer:Shari Kizirian

Description

TRIBUTE TO JULIE DASH. Exquisitely cinematic and profoundly imagined, Julie Dash's lyrical story of family migration is unlike any other, establishing her as a strikingly original artist in the pantheon of American cinema. The film commands the powerful myths of the Georgia Sea Island Gullah people, whose ancestors rejected enslavement and—as the Old Ones say—walked across the ocean home to Africa. Set to a sensuous soundtrack, Daughters of the Dust is an unforgettable portrait of the Peazant family on the eve of exodus to the mainland during the Great Northern Migration. Dash breaks new ground in storytelling and content, exploring the Gullah’s matriarchal traditions, combining West African animism, Islam, and Christianity in a fluid mix. Great Grandmother Nana Peazant, a former slave who carries the clan’s genealogy in her head and hand, and an unborn child act as guides through the journey. A sparkling new digital restoration reveals the gorgeous visual palette, adding yet another element to cherish and inspire.

 

Our Tribute program will feature an onstage conversation with Julie Dash, a clip reel of her work, a screening of Daughters in the Dust, and the presentation of  the MVFF Award. Join us after the program for a celebratory reception at Green Chile Kitchen in San Rafael.

Additional Information


Twenty-four years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke through racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust, and she became the first African American woman to have a wide and general theatrical release of her feature film. In 2004, The Library of Congress placed Daughters of the Dust in the National Film Registry where it joins a select group of American films preserved and protected as national treasures; Dash is the only African American woman with a feature film inducted into the National Film Registry. Dash has written and directed for CBS, BET, ENCORE STARZ, SHOWTIME, MTV Movies, and HBO; winning two NAACP Images Awards, and a Director’s Guild of America nomination for The Rosa Parks Story, which Angela Bassett received an Emmy nomination for her starring role. Dash’s other films include Incognito, Funny Valentines, Love Song, and Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground. Julie Dash is the Distinguished Professor of Cinema, Television and Emerging Media (CTEMS) at Morehouse College.