Daughters of the Dust

In-person: Filmmaker Julie Dash, Zama Dube, media practitioner and UCLA Cinema & Media Studies Ph.D.

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Free tickets must be obtained on a first come, first served basis at the box office, where seating will be assigned.

Preservation funded in part by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation

Diary of an African Nun

U.S., 1977

A nun in Uganda weighs the emptiness she finds in her supposed union with Christ. Adapted from a short story by Alice Walker, the film’s graphic simplicity and pantomimed performance by Barbara O. Jones give it an intensity that anticipates Julie Dash’s work on Daughters of the Dust.

16mm, b&w, 15 min. Director: Julie Dash. Screenwriter: Alice Walker. With: Barbara O. Jones, Barbara Young, Makimi Price.

Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Daughters of the Dust

U.S./Germany, 1991

Julie Dash’s 1991 masterpiece Daughters of the Dust recreates a long-marginalized part of American history with stunning visual power while the film made history itself as the first feature directed by an African American woman to receive a general theatrical release. Named to the National Film Registry in 2004 by the Library of Congress, Daughters of the Dust is now essential viewing for anyone interested in the art of cinema and the power of representation. But for years, Daughters was itself marginalized by critics and audiences—except for those who saw themselves and their stories in its images. For contemporary Black feminist visual makers Daughters of the Dust has been an important cultural reference for constructing an imaginative universe that envisions decolonial possibilities for Black aesthetics. This special screening will be introduced by UCLA graduate student Zama Dube, who will offer an intimate meditation on Dash’s filmic works through the lens of a transnational Black feminism and an exploration of how its Black expressive forms continue to inspire contemporary Black filmmakers.

35mm, color, 112 min. Director: Julie Dash. Screenwriter: Julie Dash. With: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbara-O (Barbara O. Jones).

Part of: Archive Treasures

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