Trivia

Dust caused quite a stir when it premiered. A number of European critics viewed Manchevski's film as an extension of his recent op-ed piece in The Guardian. The op-ed asked NATO to take responsibility for a civil war in his homeland Macedonia - even though Dust was finished before the war even began.

Opening film of the 2001 Venice Film Festival.

Manchevski and crew did extensive research on the Wild West, the Ottoman Empire and events at the turn of the 20th century as preparation for the historical half of Dust. The bibliography alone consisted of more than a 160 books and articles on the period or written at the time.

In the film Luke encounters both Sigmund Freud and Pablo Picasso, Freud on the boat from America and Picasso at a gallery opening in Paris. Luke is confused by both encounters.

The character of the young photographer who takes pictures of the Ottoman major's triumph in the Macedonian village bears resemblance to the real life photographer and documentarian Milton Manaki, who famously documented crucial historical events at the turn of the 20th century. Manaki used Pathe camera serial number 300.