It’s been more than two decades, 21 years to be exact, since filmmaker Julie Dash enlightened moviegoers about the rich Gullah culture – Americanized West Africans who lived on the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina – with her indie classic, Daughters of the Dust.
It would be reductive to summarize this courageous film as American history without underscoring the significant African roots. Critically acclaimed, Daughters of the Dust gives a panoramic perspective of the Gullah people through the eyes of the Peazant family as they set out to make an exodus to the mainland states. The looming migration is spurred by the family’s desire to banish their distinctly African history and heritage. While it’s an honest attempt to be progressive and escape poverty and family strife, the Peazents’ relocation threatens to disconnect the bond to their rich ancestry.
The film was rejected by Hollywood’s ruling class and Dash was quoted by the Detroit Free Press, saying “I’m a very hopeful person and I think we can accomplish a lot through film in the ’90s. We’re going to see a lot of film work done by black women who have different concerns than our brothers who make films…We have strong statements to make because we’ve been silenced for so long.”
During the Black Women Film Festival in Atlanta, Daughters of the Dust will be screened at Landmark Midtown Cinema on June 14 at 7 p.m. Dash will answer questions from the audience following the screening. The film will be introduced by film icon Ayoka Chenzira of Spelman College Digital Moving Image Salon. –yvette caslin
For more information, visit www.blackwomenfilm.org or call 404-272-3385. Click to the see the full schedule for the film festival.
