Independent African-American filmmaker whose first short, "Diary of an African Nun" (1977), was adapted from a short story by Alice Walker. "Four Women" (1978) is a "choreopoem" based on the Nina Simone song of the same title and "Illusions" (1982) is about a black woman executive passing for white in 1940s Hollywood.

After almost six years of fundraising, Dash completed her first feature, "Daughters of the Dust" (1992). Set at the turn of the century, the stunningly photographed film is an impressionistic portrait of an African-American family--descendants of West African slaves--just as they