Sag Harbor Cinema announces their latest collaboration with the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center’s (The Center) 4th Annual Black Film Festival Series Pt. 2 screening of Julie Dash’s historic Daughters of the Dust, a ravishing poetic portrait of Southern culture, and the first feature film by an African American woman to be distributed theatrically in the United States, in 1992.
The film follows a day in the life of a multi-generational family belonging to the Gullahs of South Carolina –a community of formerly enslaved West Africans who maintain their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions– as it prepares to migrate into the North. Beautifully photographed by Arthur Jafa (Crooklyn) and designed by the renowned artist Kerry James Marshall, Dash’s film was partially inspired by her father’s Gullah origins, and owes its hypnotic, circular narrative style more to the writings of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison than to the canon of contemporary independent Black cinema. Restored in 2016 by the UCLA Film Archive and the Cohen Collection on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its Sundance Film Festival premiere, Daughters of the Dust maintains its relevance in today’s cultural landscape –its echo easy to recognize in the work of filmmakers such as Dee Rees and Ava Du Vernay, as well as in Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album, Lemonade.
“I had the pleasure of seeing Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991. Its poetic, visual and cultural uniqueness remains undiminished today. The recent restoration, by UCLA and the Cohen Collection, allowed the film to be properly finished as Ms. Dash intended, over thirty years ago. It is a joy to present it at the Cinema, even more as a collaboration with the Black Film Festival,” says SHC’s Founding Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan.
Bonnie Cannon, The Center’s Executive Director says, “Yes, I am so pleased to be working again with the SHC. Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust is a notable choice and should be seen by all.”
Tickets will be available on Sag Harbor Cinema’s website, www.sagharborcinema.org.
More details about the film are available below:
At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.
About the Sag Harbor Cinema
As a not-for-profit 501(c)3, community-based organization, Sag Harbor Cinema is dedicated to presenting the past, present and future of the Movies and to preserving and educating about films, filmmaking, and the film-going experience in its three state-of-the-art theaters. The Cinema engages its audiences and the community year-round through dialogue, discovery, and appreciation of the moving image – from blockbusters to student shorts and everything in between. Revitalized and reimagined through unprecedented community efforts to rebuild the iconic Main Street structure after a fire nearly destroyed it in 2016, SHC continues a long historic tradition of entertainment in the heart of Sag Harbor Village. SHC Members enjoy discounts on tickets and merchandise and have access to our member-only rooftop lounge, The Green Room.
About the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center
The Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, known to many as The Center has served the community for over 70 years. The Center’s mission is that we are a historically black community-based institution serving East End marginalized children and families. The Center encourages, educates and empowers East End children and their families.
Our THINKING FORWARD LECTURE SERIES for the entire community is designed to educate, inspire, and open hearts and minds, with segments: Equality Matters in the Hamptons; Straight Talk, Real People; Well, Well, Well; The Politics of it All. Our Black Film Festival is an extension of our series. www.bhccrc.org.
