Dust: The fear and bravery of humanity in the apocalypse

(image (c) Ember Lab)

 

SNAPSHOT
A deadly new plague linked to a mysterious dust is devastating the countryside around Kabé—the world’s oldest city.

Irezúmi, a Tracker living in the abandoned outskirts of Kabé, is hired by a Merchant of the city’s underground medicine trade to study the dust that has begun falling on the city. Unable to develop a cure for the unusual sickness, Irezumi reluctantly agrees to search for the source in the countryside.

Little is known about the Dust or the illness it causes, but as it continues to consume the countryside Kabé is preparing to shut its gates—denying refuge to anyone outside the walls.

With the city verging on lock-down, the two embark on a dangerous journey into the countryside in search of the source. (synopsis via official Dust Facebook page)

You have to admire the tenacity and creative fire of anyone who would close to 10 years of their life to creating a 25 minute sci-fi film.

That’s a long time to sustain a vision and keep the flame of creative passion alive but the team of filmmakers consisting of Jason Gallaty, Josh Grier and Mike Grier, using $100,000 in crowdfunding money and some epic filming throughout Japan throughout 2011, not only managed but created Dust, a spectacularly immersive short film that will have you mesmerised from start to finish.

 

 

Drawing on some familiar dystopian tropes, which they totally make their own, they have gives voice to some very modern issues such as sustainability, the future of our planet and how humanity will respond to our changing home.

While it is, in essence, a sci-fi film, it succeeds in bringing the humanity of its storyline to the fore with well-wrought characters, a taut narrative, brilliantly-succinct, evocative worldbuilding and an embedded message that never subsumes the story itself.

It’s very clever filmmaking on every level, and you can’t help but be moved by its elegant grace and simplicity, and its visual mix of the natural and CGI enhanced settings.

Dust has understandably been a great success at film festivals around the world, an epic story in small runtime that succeeds in getting us to think deeply about where we want to go as a society.

For the full story go to Vox.

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