#the diary of a african nun

[roseillith]

THE DIARY OF A AFRICAN NUN (1977) dir. JULIE DASH

[exhalereleased]

"The Diary of an African Nun" by Alice Walker

[dizzymoods]

An absolutely devastating loss. One of my favorite actresses. Her work in Bushmama and Daughters were reasons I went to Howard

[estiao]

Diary of an african nun, Julie Dash

[unbiddentongue]

Diary of an African Nun by Julie Dash c. (1977)

[lboogie1906]

Julie Ethel Dash (October 22, 1952) is a film director, writer, and producer. She received her MFA at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. After she had written and directed several shorts, her 1991 feature Daughters of the Dust became the first full-length film directed by an African American woman to obtain a general theatrical release in the US.

Daughters of the Dust was named one of the most significant films of the last 30 years, by IndieWire.

She was born in Queens to Rhudine Henderson and Charles Edward Dash. She graduated from Jamaica High School and went on to receive a BA in film production from City Colleges of New York. She was raised in the Queensbridge Housing Project in Long Island City, Queens. She studied at the Studio Museum of Harlem. She wrote the script for a documentary for the New York Urban Coalition, entitled Working Models of Success.

After graduating from CCNY, she moved to Los Angeles for graduate studies. She completed a 2-year Conservatory Fellowship in Producing/Writing at AFI Conservatory. She became one of a new generation of African and African American filmmakers known as the “Black insurgents” or L.A. Rebellion.

She directed Working Models of Success (1976) and the next year, produced Four Women (1975). It won a gold medal for Women in Film at the 1978 Miami International Film Festival. She directed the film Diary of an African Nun (1977). Screened at the Los Angeles Film Exposition, it earned a Director’s Guild Award for a Student Film.

She has worked in television since the late 1990s. Her television movies include Funny Valentines (1999), Incognito (1999), Love Song (2000), and The Rosa Parks Story. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center commissioned her to direct Brothers of the Borderland in 2004, as an immersive film exhibit narrated by Oprah Winfrey following the path of women gaining freedom on the Underground Railroad. She directed episodes of Queen Sugar.

At the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, it was announced her next project will be a biopic of civil rights icon Angela Davis. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphakappaalpha

[asaakim]

Diary of an African Nun (1977) dir. Julie Dash

[rochellekohanteb]

Blog Post 4

Blog Post 4 

One artist that we have discussed in this class that I would like to highlight in this blog post is Julie Dash. Julie Dash is known as a filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author, and website creator. Her studies in film started in 1969 in Harlem and eventually led her to the American Film Institute, as well as our very own UCLA.  As a student, she made The Diary of an African Nun in 1977 which was based on the short story by Alice Walker and won a student award from the Directors Guild of America. Later on, her short film Illusions in 1982 won the Jury prize for best film of the decade, which was awarded by te Black Filmmakers Foundation. Some of her television films consisted of “Love song” in 2000, which starred R&B singer Monica Arnold, the thriller “Incognito” in 1999, and the domestic drama “Funny Valentines” also in 1999. Furthermore, Dash was also nominated for a Directors Guild Award for “The Rosa Parks Story” in 2002 which starred Angela Bassett. Eventually, Dash made her first feature in 1991, and one that I want to highlight in this blog, Daughters of the Dust. This was the first film by an African American woman that received a general theatrical release in the United States. The film was later named to the National film registry by the Library of Congress in 2004. 

“Daughters of the Dust” was both written and directed by Julie Dash. It is a 1991 film that was set in 1902 and tells the story of the Peazant family who are descendants of African slaves and live in the Sea Islands off of the coast of South Carolina. The film goes on to explore how complex the lives of the characters are, as well as the obstacles they are faced with such as their cultural heritage, family traditions, and the main decision of whether to stay on the island or move. 

One main theme of this film is memory and its connection to Afrofuturism. Memory plays a significant role in this film and is shown through the characters deep connection to their ancestors and the history of their people. Nana Peazant, a character in the film, plays a significant role in showing how important memory is to Afrofuturism by serving as an archive of her family's ancestral memory and wisdom. She also has visions that provide a link between the future, present, and past, which ultimately allows us, the viewers, to understand some of the struggles and obstacles of the Peazant family in a wider sense of their African-American heritage and history. 

[roseillith]

THE DIARY OF A AFRICAN NUN (1977) dir. JULIE DASH

[nomallmovieschicago]

2 February 2023

Film: ADAPTATION AND BEYOND (Film Program, d. various, USA)

Forum: Film Studies Center  Format: Digital and 16mm

Observations: The centerpiece of this program was Liz White's seldom-screened 1980 adaptation of OTHELLO, filmed intermittently during 1962 to 1966 with a Black cast in Martha's Vineyard, starring Yaphet Kotto in the title role. Also screened were two shorts, Julie Dash’s "The Diary of an African Nun" (1977) and Anita W. Addison’s "Eva’s Man" (1976). Again, regrettably, attendance seems to be down though those who've stuck with the series have made a loyal and enthusaistic audience.

[exhalereleased]

"The Diary of an African Nun" by Alice Walker

[treelavvn]

Diary of an African Nun, 1977

La Belle Noiseuse, 1991

[oldfilmsflicker]

Diary of an African Nun, 1977 (dir. Julie Dash)

[hmncndtns]

Barbara O. Jones in The Diary of an African Nun (Julie Dash, 1977)

[cookie-face77]

[bahatitx]

Diary of an African Nun