Dusty Dale Barker
Directing
Biography
Dusty Dale Barker is a filmmaker, photographer, and actor from the Missouri Ozarks, now based in Nashville. His work moves between narrative film, music videos, and editorial photography, with a focus on strong visuals and emotional storytelling. In 2025, his short films Windyville and What Would Spider-Man Do? are screening at festivals across the United States, including appearances at LA Comic Con through GeekFest. Spider-Man has reached nearly one million views online, while Windyville draws audiences with its mix of mystery, mythology, and emotional depth. Dusty is a two-time winner of the Nashville 48 Hour Film Project and a three-time semifinalist in the Nashville Film Festival Pitch Competition. Outside of film, Dusty has directed dozens of music videos and photographed musicians, actors, and public figures. His photography has been featured in Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Billboard, carrying the same cinematic feel found in his films. Dusty’s stories often explore legacy, memory, and the unseen forces that shape human connection. His work bridges independent film, commercial projects, and festival shorts, and he is now developing new feature films and television projects for a wider audience.
Known For
The residents of Windyville share a secret—one that defines their lives but vanishes the moment anyone leaves town. No outsider has ever remembered the truth, and over time, the townspeople have stopped trying to tell the world. But when journalist Ruth stumbles into Windyville on a cross-country road trip, she, too, learns the town’s secret. Unlike those before her, she refuses to let it slip away. As she fights to hold onto what she’s discovered, one question remains: will she be the first to break free… or will she forget, just like everyone else?
Windyville
48 Hour Film Competition 2021 Nashville Award Winner: ‘Best Film’ ‘Best Directing’ ‘Best Screenplay’ ‘Best Actress’ ‘Best Actor’ ‘Best Visual Effects’ ‘Best in Genre [Dark Comedy]’ Directed by Dusty Dale Barker Cinematography by Mike White Starring: Seth Dunlap as Zach Lindsey Akers as Jenn Moiba Mustapha as Dr. Cliff Foust Ben Love as “the third guy” Crew: Joey Yarrito | sound recording | boom op | key grip | associate producer Ben Love | sound recording | associate producer James Gerrard | gaffer Emily Isbell | sound recording | pa Mike White | writer | colorist | vfx | producer Dusty Dale Barker | writer | editor | sound design | producer
A Classic Whack & Run
Haunted by visions of his own death, a man embarks on an emotionally charged journey to confront mortality and rediscover what it truly means to live.
Memento Mori
Built from lost 8mm Kodachrome reels of a Missouri farm in 1959, marigold is a poetic nonfiction short that turns archival footage into an act of preservation. More than sixty years later, the filmmaker pairs these fragile images with a personal narration that asks what survives of us when memory fades, and whether wonder can keep us alive in the stories we leave behind. Intimate in scope yet universal in resonance, marigold is not nostalgia but rescue, a cinematic elegy about holding on before it is too late.