Trailblazing filmmaker to receive award named for Beaufort icon

A trailblazing filmmaker will be recognized in Beaufort next year for her contributions to the industry.

Julie Dash’s film “Daughters of the Dust” is marking its 25th anniversary. The film was shot on St. Helena and is about three generations of Gullah woman at the turn of the 20th century.

For her work, Dash will receive the inaugural Robert Smalls Merit and Achievement Award at the Beaufort International Film Festival in February.

The film is the first by an African American woman to be widely released in theaters, a news release said. The Library of Congress placed the film in the National Film Registry for preservation —the only feature film in the registry made by an African American woman.

The Robert Smalls award goes to someone whose body of work “has served as a catalyst for groundbreaking discoveries and societal change,” Ron Tucker, president of the Beaufort Film Society, said in a news release.

“Daughters of the Dust” was recently restored to coincide with its anniversary. The restored film will be screened at the Beaufort International Film Festival, followed by a panel discussion including Dash.

Dash is a professor of television and film at Morehouse College, the release said. Before that, she taught African American studies as a visiting professor at College of Charleston.

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Trailblazing filmmaker to receive award named for Beaufort icon."