Daughters of the Dust

1991

Daughters of the Dust

Critics Consensus

Daughters of the Dust addresses its weighty themes with lovely visuals and a light, poetic touch, offering an original, absorbing look at a largely unexplored corner of American culture.

98%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 41

65%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,273
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Daughters of the Dust Photos

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Movie Info

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. Cohen Media Group is proud to present the 25th anniversary restoration of director Julie Dash's landmark film "Daughters of the Dust." The first wide release 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, "Daughters of the Dust" still resonates today, most recently as a major in influence on Beyonce's video album "Lemonade." Restored (in conjunction with UCLA) for the first time with proper color grading overseen by cinematographer AJ Jafa, audiences will finally see the film exactly as Julie Dash intended.

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Cast

Cora Lee Day
as Nana
Alva Rogers
as Eula
Cheryl Lynn Bruce
as Viola
Adisa Anderson
as Eli
Kaycee Moore
as Haagar
Tommy Redmond Hicks
Barbara O
as Yellow Mary
Tony King
Tommy Redmond Hicks
as Mr. Snead
Bahni Turpin
as Iona
Trula M. Marcus
as Companion
Geraldine Dunston
as Viola's Mother
Vertamae Grosvenor
as Hairbraider
Eartha Robinson
as Myown
Cornell 'Kofi' Royal
as Daddy Mac
Catherine Tarver
as Woman with Baby
Kai Lynn Warren
as The Unborn Child
Trula Hoosier
as Trula
Umar Ubdurrahman
as Bilal
Malik Farrakhan
as Newlywed Man
Sherry Jackson
as Older Cousin
Ervin Green
as Baptist Minister
Marcus Humphrey
as Boatman
Bernard Wilson
as Boatman
Althea Lang
as Newlywed Woman
Jasmine Lee Ching-Hui
as Peazant Baby
Dalisia Robinson
as Peazant Baby
Willie Faulkner
as Peazant Man
Joe Taylor
as Peazant Man
Frank Brown
as Peazant Man
Rueben Fripp
as Peazant Man
Derrick Coaxum
as Peazant Boy
Neil Howard
as Peazant Boy
Jared Warren
as Peazant Child
Zenovia Green
as Peazant Child
Taira Miller
as Peazant Child
Tiffanye Hills
as Peazant Child
Jamer Freeman
as Pete
Detrell Freeman
as Re-Pete
Vivian Dawson
as Rice Husker
Inez Griffin
as Rice Husker
M. Cochise Anderson
as St. Julen Lastchild
Darrel Cook
as Moss Gatherer
Julius Cook
as Moss Gatherer
Benjamin Gillens
as Minister's Assistant
Ronald Daise
as Processional Man
Marie Smalls
as Woman Being Baptizied
Lonnie Moon
as Baptismal Processional Member
Dewitt Parker
as Baptismal Processional Member
Emma Robinson
as Baptismal Processional Member
Taylor Thompson
as Baptismal Processional Member
Virginia Green
as Baptismal Processional Member
Maceo Griffin
as Baptismal Processional Member
Archie Thomas
as Baptismal Processional Member
Raymond Paige
as Baptismal Processional Member
Ervena Falkner
as Baptismal Processional Member
J.R. Wilson
as Baptismal Processional Member
Wilhemina Wilson
as Baptismal Processional Member
Tarell Brown
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Shanna Parker
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Belle White
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Stanley White
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Maxine Royale
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Georgia Wiggins
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Carolyn Garris
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Ella Powell
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Bernice Jenkins
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Lilian Johnson
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Jackie Parker
as Indigo Plantation Worker
Sharria Johnson
as Young Nana Peazant
Leroy Simmons Jr.
as Young Daddy Mac
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Critic Reviews for Daughters of the Dust

All Critics (41) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (1)

  • This elegiac, dreamlike drama set on the Sea Islands off South Carolina in 1902 has an iron core of painful history

    Jun 2, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Kate Muir

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • The film offers a poetic political vision of a society falling between the stools of progression and regression, asking whether standing off against the travesties of the antebellum American South is the only way to attain true freedom.

    Jun 1, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    David Jenkins

    Little White Lies
    Top Critic

  • It is a mysterious, fabular and sometimes dreamlike film with its own theatrical poise.

    May 31, 2017 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Even when the pace slows to a crawl, the island's gentle mood is appealing.

    Dec 1, 2016 | Full Review…

    Jay Boyar

    Orlando Sentinel
    Top Critic

  • An absorbing, spirited film that merits considerable respect.

    Dec 1, 2016 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Clifford Terry

    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic

  • Daughters' impressionistic look at the Great Migration (who will go, who will stay, and at what cost?) combines a corporeal sense of history with poetic, often indirect and allegorical underpinnings.

    Dec 1, 2016 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

    Durga Chew-Bose

    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (41)

Audience Reviews for Daughters of the Dust

  • Oct 13, 2008
    A Top Ten Independent Film In My Book. Outstanding movie, a eye opener to some unkown history in the United States. Acting was incredable, Kino always has good productions. If you can find it buy it, Or Rent from Net Flix.
    Bruce B Super Reviewer
  • Feb 02, 2008
    A very unique film and a valuable addition to the canon of great films on slavery.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Jan 23, 2008
    Director Julie Dash's first feature. This was named one of the 50 greatest movies by black directors in The Black Film Canon by slate.com. This picture offers a chance to observe a unique culture and place and time that as far as I know has rarely been portrayed in cinema. Therefore it also offers a chance for the audience to build skills of empathy. I am not familiar with anyone in the cast, but the matriarchal Peazant family with many mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and niece relationships are well portrayed. In 1902 on the islands off the coast of South Carolina African folk-ways were maintained and this was known as Gullah culture. There are characters who are still connected to African pagan customs and magic, characters who have embraced Islam's influence, and characters who have received some education near white society on the mainland who have been converted to Christianity, and they all live together in relatively close quarters on this island. The narration is often poetically trying to describe memories. Visually it is full of earthy beach tones and many dreamy sequences.
    Byron B Super Reviewer
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