Dust on the Wind
A supernatural, psychological coming of age drama set in a Western magical realism fantasy-horror context.An indigenous vampiric boy’s family is killed. Alone in the world of humans, he struggles to understand his nature, branded as “other”, hunted by his family’s killer, haunted by the reality of what he is, of who he will become.
SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SCREENPLAY REVIEW:
“A very fascinating script because it takes a familiar trope and completely remixes it through its characters. The opening image sets the tone very well and the vivid imagery absolutely paints a picture as to what we’d be seeing”
We follow the rapid growth of Death Bird from young boy and witness to the slaughter of his immediate family to the search for his father also murdered in a conflict of the historic west. With the death of his father, we follow Death Bird’s search for a guide as he comes of age.
Always, there is a question that Death Bird seeks an answer to. As Death Bird gains blood sight (knowledge from blood) of the world around him and a deeper understanding of the world of man, Death Bird seeks to learn how he fits into this new world. Death Bird knows despite his appearance he is not a man but “other.”
As he consumes the knowledge of human blood, Death Bird’s encounters bring him into conflict with true vampires. Death Bird is hunted by one of these creatures, born of his own family’s fatal encounter. In the end Death Bird must change from prey to hunter to overcome this nemesis but in so doing must face the reality of his true nature.
Death Bird searches to understand why he appears human-like but why his kind seem closer to the Wolf than man. In the end his journey leads him to the painful discovery that his kind is a crossbreed of the two species but dominated by the Wolf gene.
Death Bird is more animal than human, and corrupted by drinking the evil in evil men’s hearts. With time his animalistic nature grows to dominate his seeming humanity, making him closer to the vampire than man.
The reality of Death Bird’s identity revealed, he struggles with himself to choose his final destiny. Death Bird is a wannabe man who will never be accepted or part of the human world. He is in a reality made up of man and monsters (the vampire), but he is neither. At best, he is an outcast at odds with humans. At worst, he is seen as their mortal enemy, a Wolf surrounded by human sheep, a Killer.
In the end Death Bird changes from prey to hunter to overcome his Vampire nemesis but in so doing he has to face the reality of his true nature. Death Bird releases his inner animal to revenge and seek justice for his family, and in a final sacrifice proves that Death Bird has a deeper humanity.
