Daily Stream: Daughters of the Dust seminar

Whether you've been meaning to catch up with Daughters of the Dust or you've already seen it (perhaps at our 2016 world premiere of the restored version), you have a chance this week to gain a greater appreciation of Julie Dash's sublime 1991 portrait of former West African slaves building a home and community on the Sea Islands of South Carolina.

Massachusetts-based academic Kyéra Sterling, whose study focuses on the Black aesthetic and Black independent filmmaking, is working with the Coolidge Corner Theatre on a multi-part seminar around the film, culminating in a livestream discussion this Thursday evening at 8 PM. The talk will center on Dash's nonlinear storytelling approach, the centering of the Black body in the narrative and the film's gorgeous landscapes, and the ties between this period piece and the genre of Afrofuturism.

Those who register for the seminar will receive a link to a pre-taped lecture for watching beforehand. Registrants are encouraged to watch the film after that and before Thursday's livestream. Here's a link to screen it for free, along with a link to the seminar's event page.

Watch Daughters of the Dust for free on Kanopy (with Columbus Metropolitan or Ohio State Libraries card).

Register for the seminar with academic Kyéra Sterling ($10 fee).