Daughters of the Dust

Featuring an introduction by UA Gender & Women’s Studies PhD candidate, Giramata, whose work is on Black Feminist Visual Reading Practices – exploring memory, play and time in the Black world (via African cinema)!

Celebrate Black History Month with a special screening of Julie Dash’s groundbreaking 1991 classic, Daughters of the Dust, recently voted one of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time in the 2022 Sight and Sound Critics Poll!

Part of The Black Experience Film Series

The Black Experience Film Series was created with the aim of bringing the richness of African-American and African Diaspora histories, identities, and cultures to the big screen. This series will celebrate and highlight a wide range of stories through a variety of movie genres focusing on Black lives—past, present and future—across local, national and global contexts. Through the Black Experience Film Series, The Loft Cinema hopes to deepen and demonstrate its commitment to Tucson’s Black community, specifically— and to racial justice more broadly, by supporting the talent and excellence of Black filmmakers.

Set in the legendary Sea Islands off the South Carolina/Georgia coast in 1902, acclaimed filmmaker Julie Dash’s landmark drama Daughters of the Dust follows a Gullah family (descendants of West African slaves) on the eve of its migration to the North. Led by a group of women who carry with them ancient African traditions, the extended family readies itself to leave behind friends, loved ones and their insulated way of life. Can these women hold fast to their sacred religious beliefs and customs, or will they be swept into the race toward an era of science and industry? This gorgeously-photographed and richly-costumed drama, structured in tableaux to reflect the art and icons of African tradition, testifies movingly to the secret celebrations and packed-away sorrows of African American women. The first widely-released feature by a black female filmmaker, Daughters of the Dust was met with wild critical acclaim and rapturous audience response when it initially opened in 1991. Casting a long legacy, the film still resonates today, most recently as a major influence on Beyonce’s video album, Lemonade.  This stunning 25th anniversary restoration of Daughters of the Dust finally allows audiences to see the film exactly as director Julie Dash intended. (Dir. by Julie Dash, 1991, USA/UK, 112 mins., Not Rated)