Art & Visual Culture Faculty

Twenty-six years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke through racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) "Daughters of the Dust." With its release, she became the first African-American woman to have a wide theatrical release of a feature film.

In 2004, the Library of Congress placed "Daughters of the Dust" in the National Film Registry where it joins a select group of American films preserved and protected as national treasures by the Librarian of Congress. Dash is the only African-American woman with a feature film that has been inducted into the National Film Registry.