Daughters of the Dust (1991)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Julie Dash

Writer:

Julie Dash (writer)

Release Date:

27 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Languid look at the Gullah culture of the sea islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia where...

Plot Keywords:

Gullah Culture | Island | Sea Islands | Lyrical | Poignant

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Cora Lee Day	...	Nana Peazant
Alva Rogers	...	Eula Peazant
Barbarao	...	Yellow Mary
Trula Hoosier	...	Trula
Umar Abdurrahamn	...	Bilal Muhammad
Adisa Anderson	...	Eli Peazant
Kaycee Moore	...	Haagar Peazant
Bahni Turpin	...	Iona Peazant
Cheryl Lynn Bruce	...	Viola Peazant
Tommy Redmond Hicks	...	Mr. Snead
Tony King	...	Newlywed Man (as Malik Farrakhan)
Cornell Royal	...	Daddy Mack Peazant
Vertamae Grosvenor	...	Hair Braider
Sherry Jackson	...	Older Cousin
Reverend Ervin Green	...	Baptist Minister

Runtime:

UK:112 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

St. Helena Island, South Carolina, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nana Peazant: I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I am the wife and the virgin. I am the barren one and many are my daughters. I am the silence that you can not understand. I am the utterance of my name.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Messenger (1994)

Brief history of Julie Dash and film setting

Julie Dash grew up in Long Island, New York and graduated from CCNY right after high school with a degree in film production. Dash moved to L.A. only to be rejected by UCLA's film department, but later accepted as a student of the American Film Institute through a fellowship. Grants then started rolling in and Dash was able to begin writing and shooting films which revolved around true historical portrayals and images of African woman such as depicted in Daughters of the Dust. This film was written, directed and then released by Julie Dash in 1991. The historical context of this film stretches from the time of the slave trade up to the summer of 1902, when the Peazant family left an island off the coast of South Carolina and headed north for the mainland. I would consider this film to be within the genre of modern melodrama because of the overly emotional acting styles, complex plot, long monologues and excellent musical score which seems to parallel the moods in each scene perfectly. I also found the mis en scene, as far as the setting, costume, figure movement and expression and cinematography to be very well done. This is an intense film definitely worth watching.