Julie Ethel Dash (born October 22, 1952) is an American film director, writer and producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the

UCLA Film School The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the

L.A. Rebellion The L.A. Rebellion film movement, sometimes referred to as the "Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers", or the UCLA Rebellion, refers to the new generation of young African and African-American filmmakers who studied at the UCLA Film School in ...

. The L.A. Rebellion refers to the first African and African-American students who studied film at UCLA.King, Susan. (October 3, 2011
"The 'L.A. Rebellion' returns,"
''The Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved on October 6, 2017. After she had written and directed several shorts, her 1991 feature ''

Daughters of the Dust ''Daughters of the Dust'' is a 1991 independent film written, directed and produced by Julie Dash and is the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States.Michel, Martin (November 20, 2016)" ...

'' became the first full-length film directed by an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman to obtain general theatrical release in the United States. ''Daughters of the Dust'' is a fictionalized telling of her father's

Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...

family who lived off the coast of the Southeastern United States. The film features black women's stories, striking visuals shot on location and a

non-linear narrative Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, video games, and other narratives, where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other way ...

. It is included in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

for its cultural, historical and

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

significance.""L.A. Rebellion - Julie Dash,"
UCLA Film & Television Archive. Retrieved on October 3, 2017. Dash has written two books on ''Daughters of the Dust''—a "making of" history co-written with

Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade (March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995), was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor. Biography Early life and education Miltona Mirkin Cade was bor ...

and

bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks, was an American author and social activist who was Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She is best known for her writings on ...

, and a sequel, set 20 years after the film's story. ''Daughters of the Dust'' was named one of the most significant films of the last 30 years, by IndieWire. Dash has worked in television since the late 1990s. Her television movies include ''Funny Valentines'' (1999), ''Incognito'' (1999), ''Love Song'' (2000), and ''

The Rosa Parks Story ''The Rosa Parks Story'' is a 2002 American television movie written by Paris Qualles and directed by Julie Dash. Angela Bassett portrays Rosa Parks, with Cicely Tyson in a supporting role as her mother. It was broadcast by CBS on February 24, 2 ...

'' (2002), starring

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

. The

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, based on the history of the Underground Railroad. Opened in 2004, the Center also pays tribute to all efforts to "abolish human enslavement and secure fr ...

commissioned Dash to direct ''Brothers of the Borderland'' in 2004, as an immersive film exhibit narrated by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

following the path of women gaining freedom on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. In 2017, Dash directed episodes of ''

Queen Sugar Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

'' on the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

. At the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, it was announced Dash's next project will be a biopic of civil rights activist

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

, to be produced by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

Early life and education

Dash was born on October 22, 1952 in Queens, New York to Rhudine Henderson and Charles Edward Dash. She graduated from Jamaica High school then went on to receive a B.A. in film production from the City College of New York in 1974. She was raised in the Queensbridge Housing Project in Long Island City, Queens. She studied in 1969 at the Studio Museum of Harlem. As an undergraduate, she studied psychology until she was accepted into the film school at the Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts at City Colleges of New York, CCNY. In 1974, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production. As a student, Dash wrote the script for a documentary for the New York Urban Coalition, titled ''Working Models of Success''. After graduating from CCNY, she moved to Los Angeles for graduate studies. She completed a two-year Conservatory Fellowship in Producing/Writing at

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...

. There she studied under filmmakers, including

Ján Kadár Ján Kadár (1 April 1918 – 1 June 1979) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian-born Slovak film writer and director of History of the Jews in Hungary, Jewish heritage. As a filmmaker, he worked in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Canada. ...

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...

, and

Slavko Vorkapich Slavoljub "Slavko" Vorkapić ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб "Славко" Воркапић; March 17, 1894 – October 20, 1976), known in English as Slavko Vorkapich, was a Serbian-born Hollywood montagist, an independent cinematic artist, chair ...

. She attended graduate school at the UCLA Film School and became one of a new generation of African and African-American filmmakers known as the "Black insurgents" or

."Daughters of the Dust"
LA Rebellion, blog at UCLA She directed ''Working Models of Success'' (1976), and the next year, produced ''Four Women'' (1975), a short dance film based on a song by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

. It won a gold medal for Women in Film in the 1978

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...

. As a graduate student at UCLA, she received an MFA in Film and Television Production. She directed the film ''Diary of an African Nun'' (1977). Screened at the Los Angeles Film Exposition, it earned a Director's Guild Award for a Student Film.Voices: "Julie Dash"
University of Minnesota, 5 August 2005

Film career

Early career

During film school, Dash was influenced by avant-garde, Latin American, African, and Russian cinema. Dash's film work began to take on a new direction after film school. Dash said in a 1991 interview with the ''Village Voice'': "I stopped making documentaries after discovering

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

, and

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

. I wondered, why can't we see movies like this? I realized I needed to learn how to make narrative movies." Being inspired by the novels of these black women authors led to her decision to direct dramatic films.

Four Women (1975)

Her 1975 short film '' Four Women'' is based on the ballad “Four Women” by

. In the song, four women are portrayed (all by the dancer Linda Martina Young): Aunt Sarah, a slave, Saffronia, a mixed-race woman, Sweet Thing, a prostitute, and Peaches, as a representation of black women overcoming racial and gender-specific forms of oppression. The first character shown is Aunt Sarah who wears a long dress and represents slavery. The next character is Saffronia who wears a black dress and a black veil. She is a mixed-race woman who is the product of her mother being raped by a white man. The next character, Sweet Thing, is a prostitute. She wears a floral print dress and she is no longer covered by a veil. The last character is Peaches, who represents a black woman who has been toughened by generations of oppression. She wears cornrows, a brightly colored tube top, and matching pants. The overall message of this short is to show the different struggles that many black women are subjected to. Stereotypes of black women are directly addressed, asking the audience to address their own biases and stereotypes. From 1978 to 1980, Dash worked as member of the Classifications and Ratings Administrations for the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

. She had a special assignment screening at the

Cannes International Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

to review a screening of short films in the Marché du Cinema.

Illusions (1982)

She wrote and directed the short film ''

Illusions An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may oc ...

'' (34 minutes), which explores racial and sexual discrimination in Hollywood and American society. Released in 1982, it was her first to earn more widespread success and attention. Set in 1942 in the fictional National Studios, it follows a black woman executive, Mignon Duprée, who has " passed" for white to achieve her position. Also featured is Ester Jeeter, a black woman who dubs the singing voice in musicals for a white Hollywood star. They work in an industry based on creating images and alternative realities. The film explores Mignon's dilemma, Ester's struggle to get roles as an actress and singer rather than dub for others, and the uses of cinema in wartime: three illusions in conflict with reality. ''Illusions'' received the 1985

Black American Cinema Society The Black American Cinema Society (BACS) was an association that promoted African American actors and filmmakers, notably through an annual awards night. Founded in 1976 by Mayme Clayton, it contained one of the largest archives of Black American f ...

Award and the Black Filmmaker Foundation's Jury Prize in 1989 as best film of the decade. Kevin Thomas of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described it as "a gripping critique of the power of the movies to shape perception," while exploring the illusions created by Hollywood, as well as the illusion of racial identity. The success of this film and other shorts enabled Dash to move to feature films. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

by the

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."Thomas, Kevin. (January 22, 1985
"Dash Tops List : Black Film Society To Give Awards,"
''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved on October 13, 2017.

''Daughters of the Dust'' (1991)

Dash began work on a story in 1975 that was inspired by her father's

family background and immigration from the

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Carolina, ...

of Georgia. This would become the screenplay ''

'', which went into production after she received $800,000 in financing from PBS in 1988. The film, set in 1902, revolves around three generations of Gullah women in the Peazant family on St. Helena Island off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Innovative with its use of Gullah dialogue and interwoven story-lines among the predominately female cast, the film focuses on ancestral and matriarchal story lines as well as the history of former slaves who settled on the island and formed an independent community there. The screenplay was written in the dialect of the island settlers with no subtitles, resulting in an immersive language experience.Kempley, Rita. (February 28, 1992
"Daughters of the Dust,"
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved on October 13, 2017. Dash's experimental approach to narrative structure was something rarely seen in U.S. feature-filmmaking. Upon the film's re-release, she said “I...wanted to do a film that was so deeply embedded in the culture, was so authentic to the culture that it felt like a foreign film.”Coyle, Jake. (November 18, 2016
"Julie Dash’s landmark ‘Daughters of the Dust’ is reborn,"
''AP News''. Retrieved on October 5, 2017. ''Daughters of the Dust'' premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in 1991, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and won a cinematography award. It became the first feature film by an African-American woman to be distributed in the United States in theatrical release and gained critical praise for its use of dialect and music composed by John Barnes, as well for its cinematography and visual imagery. ''The New York Times'' called Dash a "strikingly original film maker," noting that "for all its harsh allusions to slavery and hardship, the film is an extended, wildly lyrical meditation on the power of African cultural iconography and the spiritual resilience of the generations of women who have been its custodians."Holden, Stephen (January 16, 1992
"Review/Film; 'Daughters Of the Dust': The Demise Of a Tradition,"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved October 5, 2017. Despite the critical acclaim, Dash wasn't able to get the financing to release another feature film, going on to work in television. ''Daughters of the Dust'' would continue to gain accolades for more than two decades. It was selected for preservation in the United States

by the

in 2004 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Its visuals would influence Beyoncé's 2016 video album ''

Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

'', featuring young women on the beach, dressed in white gowns as in the movie, and gathering in front of an island cabin. On its 25th anniversary, the Cohen Media Group restored and distributed ''Daughters of the Dust'' for theatrical release, beginning at the 2016

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

.Desta, Yohanna. (August 22, 2016)
"How Beyoncé’s Lemonade Helped Bring a Groundbreaking Film Back to Theaters,"
''Vanity Fair''. Retrieved on February 26, 2017. Other screenings in celebration of the ''Daughters of the Dust'' 25th anniversary included

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

Silver Theater, and

ARRAY An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...

The Broad The Broad () is a contemporary art museum on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The museum is named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, who financed the $140 million building that houses the Broad art collections. It offers free general ...

held in Los Angeles at Theater at Ace Hotel.

Styles and themes

Dash started making films around the time of the L.A. Rebellion at UCLA which trained many young black filmmakers who all had their own aesthetic visions, however, they all sought a vision of black authenticity. The L.A. Rebellion at UCLA produced many prominent filmmakers who were determined to reimagine the media production process while uplifting and sharing authentically black stories. The films that they were making could serve as both entertainment and education. Julie Dash who was a major influence and participant of the L.A. Rebellion had a common theme in her work which was showcasing the lives of black women and the struggles that they faced. The themes in her films coincide with the idea that the L.A. rebellion was rebelling against. Which was how black people would be portrayed in film following the rise in popularity of blaxploitation films. Not only did Dash's films showcase the lives of black people, but her work was also more primarily focused on the lives of black women and the struggles that are unique to black women. When making films she aims to say things that need to be said while saying it in a different way that hasn't been done before. In the video titled Julie Dash- The Reelback interview on YouTube, she says that her personal filmmaking mission statement is to redefine how we see African-American women on the screen. She wants to show their wants, their needs, their desires, their joys, their sorrows because all of the things that Dash was seeing bore little to no relation to the people she knew or the women who raised her. She wanted to change that because she wanted to see African-American women portrayed differently on the screen.

Music videos

Dash directed videos for musicians, including

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

with Tony, Toni, Tone, Keb ‘Mo,

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

Adriana Evans Adriana Evans, (also known as Adriana Madera; born 1974) is an American R&B soul singer-songwriter. She was born in San Francisco, the daughter of jazz singer Mary Stallings. Her debut album, entitled '' Adriana Evans'', was released in 1997 an ...

, and

Sweet Honey in the Rock Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-women band, all-woman, African American, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an United States, American three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe who express their history as black women through song ...

. Her video for Tracy Chapman's “

Give Me One Reason "Give Me One Reason" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was included on her fourth studio album, '' New Beginning'' (1995), and was released as a single in various territories between November 1995 and ...

” was nominated for MTV’s Best Female Vocalist in 1996.

Television

In 1997, Dash wrote and directed an episode of '' Women: Stories of Passion'' for the Showtime Cable Network, as well as ''Sax Cantor Riff,'' one of HBO’s ''Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground'' for producers

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film ''Caged Heat'', before ...

and

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

. Dash directed the television film ''

Funny Valentines ''Funny Valentines'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Julie Dash and starring Alfre Woodard. It is based on J. California Cooper's short story of the same name. The film was produced by Starz! Pictures and released in selected theatres ...

'' in 1999, an account of a well-to-do black woman's retreat from a troubled New York marriage to the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

and her childhood past.

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

, and executive producer on the film, asked Dash to get involved. Dash wrote the screenplays and directed the television movies ''Incognito'' (1999), a romantic thriller made by BET Arabesque Films; and ''Love Song'' (2000), an MTV movie starring the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

award-winning singer Monica. Actress and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

asked Dash to direct the biopic ''

'' in 2002. The film follows Parks and her husband Raymond (

Peter Francis James Peter Francis James (born September 16, 1956) is an American actor and voice-over artist, distinguished by his strong baritone. Early life James was born September 16, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, to David James and Mary Galloway James. He has f ...

) as they deal with the issues of

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

and second-class status in 1950s Alabama, leading up to Parks' refusing to relinquish her seat on a

city bus A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, leading to the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...

. ''The Rosa Parks Story'' won several awards, including the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Best Television Movie.Breznican, Anthony. (March 8, 2003
"'Rosa Parks Story Wins' Two NAACP Awards,"
''Midland Daily News''. Retrieved on October 13, 2017. Dash was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in the 55th Annual

Directors Guild Awards The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...

—the first African-American woman nominated in the category of Primetime Movies Made for Television. In 2004 Dash made ''Brothers of the Borderland'', a work commissioned by the

. Narrated by

, the film features the character of Alice, an

escaped slave In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called freed ...

whose story represents an amalgamation of historic figures. The film is shown in the

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

theater, named for the fugitive slave woman who helped many others escape to freedom. In December 2016, Dash guest-hosted on Turner Classic Movies to discuss dozens of films on the channel. Dash joined the roster of female directors working on the second season of Ava DuVernay's ''

'' on the OWN Network in 2017.

Author

*''Daughters of the Dust: The Making of an African American Woman's Film'', co-written with

and

. The New Press, 1992, *''Daughters of the Dust: A Novel'', a sequel set 20 years after the passage explored in the film. Amelia, a young anthropology student who grew up in Harlem, goes to Dawtah Island to meet her mother's relatives and learn about their culture. Selected in 2011 for the Charleston County Public Library's "One Book Program".Susan Cohen, "Twenty years later, Julie Dash's film Daughters of the Dust continues to inspire"
''Charleston City Paper'', 14 September 2011 Plume, 1999,

Personal life

Dash and her former husband, photographer and cinematographer Arthur Jafa, have a daughter, Nzinga Jafa.

Honors and Awards

*First Prize – Black American Cinema Society Award for ''Illusions'', 1985 *

Excellence in Cinematography Award (Dramatic) for ''

''; nominated for

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

, 1991 *

Candace Award The Candace Award is an award that was given from 1982 to 1992 by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) to "Black role models of uncommon distinction who have set a standard of excellence for young people of all races". Kandake, Candace ...

National Coalition of 100 Black Women The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) is a non-profit volunteer organization for African American women. Its members address common issues in their communities, families and personal lives, promoting gender and racial equity. Hi ...

, 1992 *

, Best Television Movie for ''

''; Best TV Movie Actress for

, 2002 *Family Television Award, Movies and Mini-Series for ''The Rosa Parks Stor]'', 2002 *55th Annual

– nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement on ''The Rosa Parks Story'' (first African-American woman nominated in the "Primetime Movies Made for Television" category), 2002 * Black Reel Awards of 2003, Black Reel Awards: Outstanding Television Actress – Angela Bassett; Outstanding Television Supporting Actress –

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

; Outstanding Television Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Paris Qualles; Outstanding Television Film for '' Rosa Parks Story'', 2003 *New York

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

for ''The Rosa Parks Story'', 2003 *''

'' selected for the

of the

, 2004 *Excellence in Cinematography Award for ''Daughters of the Dust'', 15th Cascade Festival of African Films, Portland, Oregon, 2005 *New York Film Critics Special Award, 2017 *Robert Smalls Merit and Achievement Award, 2017
WIFV
Women of Vision Award, 2017 *Elected honorary member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

Sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

*restoration and re-release of Daughters of the Dust, 2016

Filmography

*''

'' (2017) (TV) eason 2: episode 9 – "Yet Do I Marvel," episode 10 – "Drums at Dusk"*''Standing at the Scratch Line'' (2016) lso writer*''Smuggling Daydreams Into Reality'' (2011) *''My Marlton Square'' (2009) *''

Brothers of the Borderland ''Brothers of the Borderland'' is a 2004 film directed by American filmmaker Julie Dash. The film is on display as an immersive film experience at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Plot ''Brothers of the B ...

'' (2004)

ilm for immersive museum exhibit Ilm or ILM may refer to: Acronyms * Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product * ''I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1 * Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets * Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion pic ...

*''

'' (2002) (TV) *''Love Song'' (2000) (TV) *''Incognito'' (1999) (TV) *''

'' (1999) (TV) *'' Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground'' (1997) (TV) lso writer, segment: "Sax Cantor Riff"*'' Women: Stories of Passion'' (1997) (TV) lso writer, 1 episode: "Grip Till It Hurts"*''Praise House'' (1991) *''

'' (1991) lso writer, producer*''

'' (1982) lso writer*'' Four Women'' (1975) *''Diary of an African Nun'' (1977) *''Working Models of Success'' (1973) ocumentaryre
Julie Dash Filmography
African Film Festival New York. Retrieved on October 3, 2017.

Music videos

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

, "

" (1996) * Tony! Toni! Tone!, " Thinking Of You" (1997) *

, "Love Is All Around" (1997)

References

External links

*
Julie Dash
at

Women Make Movies Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from city-wide Women's Li ...

Bibliography of books and articles about Julie Dash
via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dash, Julie 1952 births Living people African-American film directors Gullah American women film directors L.A. Rebellion People from Long Island City, Queens UCLA Film School alumni AFI Conservatory alumni 20th-century American novelists Film directors from New York City American women novelists 20th-century American women writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women African-American women writers

Early life and education

Film career

Early career

Four Women (1975)

Illusions (1982)

''Daughters of the Dust'' (1991)

Styles and themes

Music videos

Television

Author

Personal life

Honors and Awards

Filmography

Music videos

See also

References

External links