Daughters of the Dust

Completed over several years, Julie Dash's low-budget feature debut is a poetic tribute to African culture, the oral tradition and the spirit of the Gullah people, who owe their descent to the freed slaves who settled on the islands off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. Set in 1902, the film uses a gathering that precedes the mainland odyssey of five women to explore questions of race, sex and family as well as nationality and exile. It's the imagery that most impresses, though, with the naturally lit colours given a sense of history remembered by Dash's stylised use of slow motion.