Illusions
Julie Dash
It’s 1942, one year after Pearl Harbor, and the setting is a Hollywood studio. Studio manager Mignon, who passes as a white woman, uses the voice of African-American singer Ester to dub a white Hollywood star. Both women are forced to accept the fact that they live in a society that perpetuates false images as the status quo. Illusions follows Mignon’s dilemma, Ester’s struggle and the use of Hollywood cinema in times of war: three illusions conflicting with reality.
Julie Dash
Julie Dash is an icon of Black independent cinema. Her films examine questions of justice, diasporic identities and the biographies of Black women. With Daughters of the Dust, she became the first African-American woman to have a nationwide theatrical release in the US in 1991. She has taught at various universities and moderated the Combahee Experiment at Princeton University with Angela Davis.
Films by Julie Dash (selection)
The Rosa Parks Story 2002 | Funny Valentines 1999 | Daughters of the Dust 1991 |
Praise House 1991 | The Diary of an African Nun 1975
Awards for Illusions:
Jury Prize for Best Film of the Decade awarded by the Black Filmmakers Foundation
