“One of the most compelling and joyful music documentaries of the year”
“Shows how country music has transcended international borders”
“An often captivating crowd-pleaser that weaves contemporary politics in its backdrop…a character study rife with terrific music and presence”
“[A] wondrous ten-day road trip through the American south”
“A triumph of musical storytelling”
Upcoming Screenings
Past Screenings
- Jun 15th, 21st, & 23rd, 2024 -
- In-Edit Brasil,
- São Paulo, Brazil
- May 3rd, 2024 -
- Toad Suck Daze,
- Conway, Arkansas
- Apr 29th & May 4th, 2024 -
- Rock This Town,
- Pau, France
- Audience Award
- Mar 19th & 22nd, 2024 -
- Fargo Film Festival,
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Jan 12th, 2024 -
- Norient Festival,
- Bern, Switzerland
- Dec 5th, 2023 -
- Hamptons Doc Fest,
- Sag Harbor, New York
- Dec 4th, 2023 -
- Anchorage International Film Festival,
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Nov 18th & 19th, 2023 -
- Woodstock Vermont Film Series,
- Woodstock, Vermont
- Nov 18th, 2023 -
- House on Fire,
- Malkerns, Eswatini
- Eswatini Premiere
- Nov 6th, 2023 -
- Africa International Film Festival,
- Lagos, Nigeria
- African Premiere
- Nov 1st, 2023 -
- Raindance Film Festival,
- London, United Kingdom
- UK Premiere
- Oct 29th & Nov 2nd, 2023 -
- In-Edit Barcelona,
- Barcelona, Spain
- Oct 28th, 2023 -
- Virginia Film Festival,
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Oct 18th & 19th, 2023 -
- DocsMX,
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Oct 16th & 20th, 2023 -
- Doctober at Pickford Film Center,
- Bellingham, Washington
- Oct 13th & 14th, 2023 -
- Bend Film Festival,
- Bend, Oregon
- Oct 13th, 2023 -
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival,
- Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Oct 12th, 2023 -
- Filmfest Osnabrück,
- Osnabrück, Germany
- Oct 11th, 2023 -
- Woods Hole Film Festival – Best of the Fest Screening,
- Cotuit, Massachusetts
- Oct 7th & 8th, 2023 -
- Heartland International Film Festival,
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Sep 30th, 2023 -
- Nashville Film Festival,
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Jury Award for Best Music Documentary Feature
- Sep 24th, 2023 -
- Footcandle Film Festival,
- Hickory, North Carolina
- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Sep 22nd & 26th, 2023 -
- trinidad+tobago film festival,
- Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Premiere
- Sep 2nd, 2023 -
- Hermit Music Festival,
- Kuna, Idaho
- Aug 27th, 2023 -
- Oulu Music Video Festival,
- Oulu, Finland
- Aug 24th & 26th, 2023 -
- Filmfestival Kitzbühel,
- Kitzbühel, Austria
- Aug 23rd, 2023 -
- Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival,
- Middlebury, Vermont
- Opening Night Film
- Aug 1st, 2023 -
- Woods Hole Film Festival,
- Woods Hole, Massachusetts
- Special Jury Mention - Best Documentary Feature
- Jul 25th, 2023 -
- Nowadays,
- Queens, New York
- Jun 22nd, 2023 -
- SoundTrack_Cologne,
- Cologne, Germany
- Special Jury Mention
- Jun 10th & 11th, 2023 -
- deadCenter Film Festival,
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- May 7th, 2023 -
- NorthwestFest,
- Edmonton, Canada
- May 4th, 5th, & 12th, 2023 -
- DOK.fest München,
- Munich, Germany
- European Premiere
- Apr 28th, 29th, & May 2nd, 2023 -
- San Luis Obispo International Film Festival,
- San Luis Obispo, California
- Audience Award for Best Documentary
- Apr 28th, 2023 -
- Thin Line Festival,
- Denton, Texas
- Jury Award for Best Feature
- Apr 21st, 29th, & 30th, 2023 -
- BAFICI,
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- South American Premiere
- Apr 20th, 2023 -
- Atlanta Film Festival,
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Apr 17th & 19th, 2023 -
- Florida Film Festival,
- Maitland, Florida
- Special Jury Award for Debut Feature
- Apr 16th, 18th, & 24th 2023 -
- Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival,
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Apr 14th & 15th, 2023 -
- RiverRun International Film Festival,
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Best Director Award - Documentary Feature
- Mar 27th, 2023 -
- Salem Film Fest,
- Salem, Massachusetts
- Mar 23rd & 26th, 2023 -
- Filmfort at Treefort Music Fest,
- Boise, Idaho
- Opening Night Film
- Mar 24th - 25th, 2023 -
- Annapolis Film Festival,
- Annapolis, Maryland
- Mar 12th & 18th, 2023 -
- Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival,
- Sebastopol, California
- Mar 4th, 2023 -
- Oxford Film Festival,
- Oxford, Mississippi
- Mar 1st - 2nd, 2023 -
- Hot Docs – Doc Soup,
- Toronto, Canada
- Feb 18th, 2023 -
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival,
- Missoula, Montana
- Feb 1st, 2023 -
- Calgary International Film Festival – Top Docs,
- Calgary, Canada
- International Premiere
- Nov 17th, 2022 -
- DOC NYC,
- New York
- World Premiere
Story
Dusty & Stones is a continent-crossing hero’s journey story told through country music. The documentary intimately chronicles the remarkable ride of cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi, a determined duo of struggling country singers from the tiny African Kingdom of Eswatini (known as Swaziland at the time of filming) who long for their big break.
When they are unexpectedly invited to record their songs in Nashville and to compete in a Texas battle of the bands, Dusty and Stones embark on their long-awaited first pilgrimage to the ancestral heart of country music.
Over a momentous ten-day road trip through the American South, Dusty and Stones bring their music to life in a top Nashville recording studio, explore the storied locales of their favorite country songs, and excitedly engage with the culture they’ve long felt part of from afar.
But this sense of kinship is abruptly thrown into question when Dusty and Stones arrive in the small town of Jefferson, Texas to compete in the battle of the bands. There, the hostile leader of the local backing band threatens to derail the cousins’ debut American performance. As their family and friends back home wait for good news, a shell-shocked Dusty and Stones must take the stage and fight to bring home an award for Swaziland.
Dusty & Stones is executive produced by Park Pictures and supported by the HBO New True Stories Funding Initiative, the Gotham Documentary Feature Lab, Film Independent’s Fast Track, Durban FilmMart, and the XTR Film Society.
Dusty and Stones
Cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi grew up together in a remote valley in Mooihoek, Swaziland, where they herded their family’s cattle after school and went to church every Sunday to watch their grandfather preach. When the Swazi national radio station began broadcasting a weekly program of classic American country music, the cousins heard the joys and hardships of their rural lives reflected in the songs of artists like Dolly Parton and Hank Williams. They became determined to develop a distinctly southern African take on this historically American genre of music.
Dusty and Stones have since become prolific Country singer-songwriters with an international following. The duo’s music has been featured on radio stations across Europe and the United States, and their YouTube videos have garnered over 100,000 views.
In 2023, Dusty and Stones made their Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville. The cousins are also three-time Swazi NACA award winners, South African Country Music Artist Foundation’s 2018 International Artist of the Year, and Texas Sound International Country Music Awards’ 2017 Duo of the Year.
In addition to playing music, Dusty is a beloved high school English teacher at Swaziland’s National High School, and Stones is an accomplished project manager working in construction.
Team
An Ominira Studios Production
In association with
Park Pictures
Directed and Produced by
Jesse Rudoy
Produced by
Melissa Adeyemo
Executive Producers
Sam Bisbee
Cody Ryder
Editors
Jesse Rudoy
Loulwa Khoury
Supervising Editor
Mark Becker
Director of Photography
Michael Koshkin
Original Score by
Yasmin Williams and William Tyler
About the Director
Jesse Rudoy is a filmmaker, musician, and born-again country fan based in New York City. He was most recently an editor on Season 2 of HBO’s The Jinx. Jesse has composed original music for brands like Adidas and National Geographic and released music on the record label Let’s Play House. His work has been supported by HBO, the Gotham Film & Media Institute, Film Independent, and Durban FilmMart. Dusty & Stones is his first film.
About the Producer
Melissa O. Adeyemo is a Nigerian-American producer and the founder of Ominira Studios, a New York-based production company.
Her first feature, Eyimofe, premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, has shown at over 20+ festivals, and was acquired by Janus Films. It is currently a part of the Criterion Collection, where Melissa is the first-ever African female producer to be featured in her own standalone spotlight interview. Eyimofe was nominated for an NAACP Award and won five African Movie Academy Awards. Dusty & Stones is her first documentary feature film. Melissa started her filmmaking career with Spike Lee’s Inside Man and Steven Spielberg’s Munich.
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