Julie Dash’s landmark film “Daughters of the Dust” has been remastered and a new trailer has just been released in anticipation of the film’s 25th anniversary re-release this fall.
“Daughters of the Dust,” written and directed by Dash and released in 1991, was the first full-length film by an African-American woman with general theatrical release in the United States. Utilizing an unconventional narrative device, the story is told from the perspective of a character named Unborn Child, and was praised for its use of music and stunning visual imagery.
Set at the turn of the 20th century on the isolated Sea Islands off the South Carolina coast, “Daughters of the Dust” is a “mosaic of storytelling centering on the women of an extended family of Gullah people — descendants of slaves who have preserved the traditions, beliefs, and language of their West African ancestors,” its official Cohen Media Group synopsis reads. “But things are about to change drastically and irrevocably as members of the family — each with a vividly etched story line — prepare to leave this seaside paradise and all they’ve ever known to migrate to the industrialized North.”
“I’m excited about the restoration of ‘Daughters of the Dust’ being made available to the public and delighted to have the opportunity to engage with a new generation of people who have never seen the film,” Dash said about the restoration when it was announced back in the spring.
“Daughters of the Dust” will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and open theatrically on November 18. Watch the restored trailer and check out a new poster below.
