A good planet is hard to find – so let’s celebrate it! Earth Day was launched in 1970 when millions of citizens attended inaugural events around the nation designed to champion environmental causes and has since grown into a global observance. To honor this important day, AFI is spotlighting select films from AFI AWARDS, AFI...

Originally conceived as a “short, silent film” about an African American family from the Carolina Sea Islands, DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) was written, directed and produced by AFI alum Julie Dash (Class of 1974) – who soon realized there was too much material for just a short film, so she combined her research with...

This film was originally selected as an AFI Movie Club pick on June 3, 2020. DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST was directed by AFI Alum Julie Dash (Class of 1974) – an influential member of the LA Rebellion movement which reinvented Black Cinema. The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called her “a true American original who...

Julie Dash (AFI Class of 1974) is one of the most well-respected and inventive visual storytellers of her generation. After attending AFI in the mid-‘70s, she received her MFA in Film and Television Production from UCLA. She made an auspicious start with bold short films – ILLUSIONS and DIARY OF AN AFRICAN NUN – and…

DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST was directed by AFI alum Julie Dash (Class of 1974) – an influential member of the LA Rebellion movement which reinvented Black Cinema. The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called her “a true American original who dared to fill an empty space in the American imagination.” With the release of the…