Awarding Cinematic Greatness: The 2024 SVAFF to Present Julie Dash With Cultural Icon Award
San Jose, (August 9, 2024) – Acclaimed filmmaker, Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), to be honored at SVAFF 2024 with the festival’s Cultural Icon Award.
San Jose, (August 9, 2024) – The Silicon Valley African Film Festival is honored to announce that acclaimed filmmaker Julie Dash will be presented with the esteemed Cultural Icon Award at this year’s festival. Dash will attend the award ceremony and the following fireside chat which will occur on Sunday, October 13 at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose, California.
Julie Dash is a filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author and educator. She occupies a singular place in history as the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film in the United States for her magnum opus, Daughters of the Dust (1991). In 2004, the Library of Congress named Daughters of the Dust to the National Film Registry. Dash is known for having directed multiple episodes of the award-winning drama series, Queen Sugar, Season 2, created and produced by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, for OWN Television. Her television films include “Love Song” (2000), starring R&B singer Monica Arnold, the romantic thriller “Incognito” (1999), and the domestic drama “Funny Valentines” (1999). She was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for “The Rosa Parks Story” (2002) starring Angela Bassett. She has directed music videos for Tony! Toni! Toné!, Keb’ Mo’, Peabo Bryson, Adriana Evans, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Tracy Chapman. Beyonce’s iconic 2016 visual album, Lemonade, pulls aesthetic and cultural motifs directly from Dash’s Daughters of the Dust. Julie Dash is a Diana King Endowed Professor in the Department of Art & Visual Culture at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I am truly honored and look forward to being there,” Julie Dash said on the news of her nomination. SVAFF founder and executive director, Chike C. Nwoffiah, added “Professor Dash has broken through racial and gender boundaries with her unique visual style that centers and celebrates her African heritage. She is easily one of the Best Filmmakers of All Time and we look forward to hosting her here in San Jose.”
The Cultural Icon Award is SVAFF’s highest accolade, presented exclusively to individuals who have demonstrated a relentless commitment to showcasing and uplifting the image of Africa and its diaspora through creative expressions. Previous recipients of the award include actor, producer, and philanthropist Jimmy Jean-Louis (2022), actor and producer Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (2021), former Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas Mother Cynthia Pratt (2019), emeritus editor of Essence Magazine Susan L. Taylor (2018), co-directors of Diamano Coura African Dance Ensemble Dr. Zak and Mrs. Naomi Diouf (2017), and actor, producer, and activist Danny Glover (2016).
Now in its 15th year, SVAFF celebrates the richness, identity, and stories of Africa and its diaspora on its own terms. The festival has grown into a cultural destination event that draws award-winning international filmmakers, high-level foreign government dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities, academics, community leaders, students, and local film enthusiasts. From film screenings to talkback sessions with visiting filmmakers, fashion shows, live performances, panel discussions, workshops, an African market, and red carpet events, SVAFF provides audiences with an exquisite window into the real Africa and its diaspora through the lenses of seasoned and emerging filmmakers.
This year, SVAFF is proud to introduce the African Film Summit, presented in partnership with the Office of the President of San Jose State University. This groundbreaking event will convene academics, students, filmmakers, film enthusiasts, celebrities, government officials, distributors, and investors from across the globe for an engaging dialogue on African cinema.
Join us for an unforgettable celebration of African film, culture, and creativity. For more information about SVAFF, please visit www.svaff.org.
Sahndra Fon Dufe Okeowo
Outreach & Strategic Engagement Director
Silicon Valley African Film Festival
+1 (408) 886-0049
sahndra@svaff.org
About Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF):
Silicon Valley African Film Festival celebrates the richness, identity, and stories of Africa and its diaspora on their own terms. It has become a cultural destination event that draws award-winning international filmmakers, high-level foreign government dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities, academics, community leaders, students, and local film enthusiasts. SVAFF offers audiences an exquisite window into the real Africa and its diaspora through the lenses of seasoned and emerging filmmakers.