Julie Dash

Julie Ethel Dash, born on October 22, 1952, is a distinguished American filmmaker, writer, and producer. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from UCLA Film School, becoming a prominent figure among the L.A. Rebellion — a collective of early African and African-American cinema students that significantly shaped the film landscape. Dash's groundbreaking feature film, *Daughters of the Dust*, released in 1991, marked a historic milestone as it became the first full-length movie directed by an African-American woman to receive a general theatrical release in the United States. This acclaimed work has since been recognized by IndieWire as one of the most important films of the past three decades.

Transitioning to television in the late 1990s, Dash created several impactful television movies, including *Funny Valentines* (1999), *Incognito* (1999), *Love Song* (2000), and *The Rosa Parks Story* (2002), featuring the talented Angela Bassett. In 2004, she directed *Brothers of the Borderland*, an immersive film exhibit commissioned by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, which explored the journey of women seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. More recently, in 2017, Dash contributed her directorial talents to the acclaimed series *Queen Sugar*, which airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network, further solidifying her legacy in the world of film and television.