Baylee Berkley as Nia, in tears, with her family close beside her.

Cast Bucket Productions presents

DUST

A film by Christine LeVeaux Haley

Drama Mystery Suspense 122 min

Watch the trailer See it at SLIFF, Nov 15
Official Selection, St. Louis International Film Festival 2026

Official trailer

Watch the trailer

The story

The past we inherit.

DUST is a story of healing. It explores how one tragic event reverberates through the lives of several people across generations.

When a young woman, Nia, learns that her family history includes a lynching, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and purpose.

DUST is a story about the past we inherit, the truths we carry and the courage it takes to break the cycle and create a different future.

Setting
A small Mississippi town, 1990s
Genre
Drama, Mystery, Suspense
Running time
122 minutes
Official DUST poster: a young girl in a white dress stands in a forest clearing beneath the title.
Official poster
Nia and Kenny stand close together among the trees in rural Mississippi.

Starring

The cast

Baylee Berkley as Nia, seated at a courtroom table

as Nia

Baylee Berkley

Baylee Berkley leads DUST as Nia, the young woman whose search for the truth about her grandfather's death drives the film.

Dakarai Akil as Kenny

as Kenny

Dakarai Akil

Born and raised in Houston, Dakarai Akil found his love of storytelling on stage at The Ensemble Theatre. He was an all-conference basketball player at Sam Houston before choosing acting and filmmaking. He has written, directed, and starred in award-winning short films and leads several features streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Tubi, including Deadly Escape and The Dirty 3rd: Next Generation.

Lucretia Johnson as Aunt Lula Mae

as Aunt Lula Mae

Lucretia Johnson

Lucretia Johnson is from Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas, and later moved to the Dallas area. She began acting professionally on stage in 2012 and moved into film and television in 2013. Her credits include the series C-Blues and the features Texas Kill City and Ten Toes Down.

Corbin Timbrook as Wilson Reed

as Wilson Reed

Corbin Timbrook

Raised in Hollywood, Corbin Timbrook is an award-winning actor and filmmaker with more than 40 years of film, television, and stage work, from Ski Patrol and Coach to A Christmas Vintage. As a director and producer he has won awards across genres, most notably in horror and thriller.

Behind the camera

The filmmakers

Christine LeVeaux Haley, PhD, writer and producer of DUST

Writer and Producer

Christine LeVeaux Haley, PhD

Christine LeVeaux Haley is a political science professor in the Honors College at the University of Houston and President of Cast Bucket Productions. DUST is her first feature film.

A graduate of Spelman College with a PhD from Louisiana State University, she teaches and studies legislative politics, Black politics, and political behavior, with a focus on minority representation in Congress and Black electoral politics. Her work appears in Legislative Studies Quarterly and Political Research Quarterly, and she is a political commentator for local and national outlets, including CNN.

The premise and themes of DUST grew in part from honest, analytical discussions in her political science courses over more than 20 years of teaching. Her filmmaking extends a lifelong commitment to educating in a way that is engaging and entertaining. Through Cast Bucket Productions, she focuses on the untold story, the misrepresented story, and the incomplete story.

One of my goals in the film was to humanize lynching victims as a way to honor them.

Christine LeVeaux Haley
Director Swisyzinna

Director and Producer

Swisyzinna

Swisyzinna is a director, writer, producer, and Pre-Emmy nominated, award-winning actress whose work ranges from comedy to horror. She began performing at age eight and is known as an actor's director. She made her directing debut in the late 1990s with the stage play Dreamgirls, went on to direct every episode of two seasons of the web series Stepford Sidechix, and wrote and directed her first feature, Death Ph.D.

Based in Los Angeles, she founded The Hendersons Production Company and earned an MFA in Directing and Acting from Mount Saint Mary's University in Hollywood. Christine LeVeaux Haley has called her a godsend for DUST.

Producer Jonathan David Kirkland

Producer

Jonathan David Kirkland

Jonathan David Kirkland is a proud Michigan native whose career spans a diverse range of artistic and educational pursuits. After earning his B.A. from the College of Music at Michigan State University in 2010, he further honed his craft by obtaining an M.A. in Vocal Music Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Houston in 2012.

As an artist, Jonathan has established himself as a talented actor, singer, writer, and producer with an impressive body of work that spans opera, musical theater, television, and film. His notable credits include roles in FBI Most Wanted, Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Run the World, Tulsa Kings, How to Die Alone, and, perhaps most famously, as George Washington in the critically acclaimed Hamilton: An American Musical. Beyond acting, Jonathan has produced both short and feature films and has hosted a variety of podcasts, including the popular The Jon and Joss Show, which he co-hosts with his wife.

Executive producers

  • Carol and Dan Price
  • Noelle LeVeaux
  • Thelma LeVeaux
  • Alison Leland
  • Tamla Wilson
  • Cindy and Edward Lewis
  • Christine LeVeaux Haley and Sean Haley
Director of Photography
Shrey Tiwari
Edited by
Ethan Sacchi
Original score by
Katrina Zemrak
Produced with
The Hendersons Production Company

Festivals and screenings

Where to see DUST

Official Selection, St. Louis International Film Festival 2026

St. Louis International Film Festival

Washington University's Brown Hall Auditorium, St. Louis. Free program, part of the Women in Film Spotlight, Race in America: The Black Experience, and the Cinema for Students Program.

Get free tickets

Premiere screening, University of Houston

DUST screened to a packed house at the University of Houston Student Center Theater.

Touring now

DUST: Change Rising

A screening tour that pairs an HBCU screening and conversation with a public community screening in each city. Campuses, community organizations, and sponsors interested in hosting a stop are invited to get in touch.

Host a screening

Awards and selections

Recognition

  • Official SelectionSt. Louis International Film Festival2026
  • FinalistBest Script AwardLondon, 2025
  • NomineeInternational Indie Film and Screenplay FestivalParis
  • FinalistHarlem International Film FestivalScreenplay Competition, 2024
  • Second RounderAustin Film FestivalScreenplay Competition, 2023
  • Second RounderAustin Film FestivalEnderby Entertainment Award for Original Concept and Distinctive Voice, 2023

Support independent film

Help carry DUST to more audiences

DUST is fiscally sponsored by Fresh Arts, a Houston-based nonprofit arts service organization. Contributions for DUST are made payable to Fresh Arts and are tax deductible through Fresh Arts.

Donate through Fresh Arts Other ways to invest

Get in touch

Press, screenings, and distribution

For press requests, screening and tour bookings, festival programming, distribution, and partnership inquiries, send a note to the DUST team.

Invest in DUST

Other ways to invest

Beyond tax-deductible gifts through Fresh Arts, there are other ways to be part of DUST, from equity investment and executive producer opportunities to sponsorship of the DUST: Change Rising tour. Share a little about your interest and the team will follow up directly.