DOC NYC 2022: Dusty and Stones

A opportunity at this year's festival got me to watch documentary named Dusty and Stones. A documentary about two men from Swaziland in Africa who are country singers and gets invited to a music festival in Texas to play their brand of country music. The film depicts the struggles of Dusty and his cousin Stones who try to make it big in their homeland but can not grab people's attention. The documentary starts with the duo struggling to find a fan base in their town then proceed to perform in front of a crowd of one. Their manager approaches them and mentions that their type of music doesn't fit with the country's culture. All the while in America a organization is checking out their videos and about to send them tickets to Texas to participate in a competition. As the countdown begins for them to travel the cousins prepare by going around talking to family and making media appearances for support. Once in Texas the cousins get studio time to record their songs to perform at the festival and they get emotional hearing it in a studio setting. Of course there is the classic fish out of water moment where the cousins are walking around the venue trying to learn about American culture.

Not to give up too much but in the end of the documentary the cousins are celebrating as heroes in their homeland. The documentary definitely gives that inspiring thought to never give up on your dreams along with great things happen to those who wait. I thought it would be better if we saw more into their back story to understand how hard it was to learn a genre of music that doesn't relate to their homeland and the sacrifices made to get there. Highly recommended. A documentary that is motivated and inspiring without the preachy anadote.