Julie Dash

About Julie Dash

"Four Women" (1978) is a "choreopoem" based on the Nina Simone song of the same title and "Illusions" (1982) is about a black woman executive passing for white in 1940s Hollywood.

After almost six years of fundraising, Dash completed her first feature, "Daughters of the Dust" (1992). Set at the turn of the century, the stunningly photographed film is an impressionistic portrait of an African-American family--descendants of West African slaves--just as they are about to give up their insular customs and unique "Gullah" language to travel north to the newly industrialized land of "milk and honey". "Daughters" was the first feature-length film by an American-born black female filmmaker to be released commercially in the United States.

Education

AFI Conservatory, Los Angeles , California

AFI Conservatory

University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles , California

City College of New York, New York , New York

Studio Museum, New York , New York

Career Milestones

Raised in the Queensridge housing projects in Long Island City, New York

1968

First became interested in film making when she visited a friend at a film workshop at the Studio Museum in Harlem

1978

Directed first film, "Four Women"

1991

Directed, wrote and co-produced first feature film, "Daughters of the Dust"

1999

Helmed the TV-movie "Funny Valentines" (BET/Starz!)