Julie Dash

Julie Dash, a producer, writer and director from New York City, is probably best known for her film Daughters of the Dust, released January 1992, which was the first full-length film both directed and written by an African-American woman. Daughters of the Dust is the story of the Peazant family, a family who resides on one of several islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. It is through this film that Dash, as the auteur, utilizes gynocriticism to ensure, "voices of the silenced are becoming heard," (95).

Dash explains, in an interview featured on YouTube, that Daughters of the Dust looks particularly at the African-American woman at the turn of the century to compare to where she is presently (at the time of the interview). She also explains that the film takes place on the sea islands which are sacred grounds; they can be likened to a Black Ellis Island because it was the place where the slave ships first arrived before slaves were brought to the mainland. The people who inhabit these sea islands, or golden islands, are known as the Gullah or Geechee people. They are a community of African-Americans, around 250,000, and are descendents of slaves. In telling the story of the Gullah people, Dash is not only exposing a history that often remains untold, she also refutes the belief that African-Americans completely assimilated to the mainstream American culture. Daughters of the Dust uncovers a rich history of Gullah traditions, cuisines, and religion which reflect West African culture. The film also reflects her family history and the Gullah traditions that she witnessed and took part in as a child.

Julie Dash also noted in the interview that she began her research for the film in 1975. In addition to making the film, Dash also had to convince people that there was indeed an audience for a movie that was about a family and concentrated on women. Thankfully, Dash was convincing; Daughters of the Dust won "Best Cinematography" at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival and the film was placed in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

http://www.youtube.com/user/juliedash