Dance of Dust was made in 1992, two years after Jalili’s attempt to realise Dorna, an unfinished film which was held by the producer. A young man, Ilia, works in a brick kiln. Living a solitary life, he is attracted to a young girl, Limua, who has come with her mother as a seasonal worker. He is haunted by mysterious whisperings calling him to other realms. With the coming of rain, signalling the end of the season, the girl gives Ilia the present of an imprint of her hands. This object becomes sacred to him. When the girl finally has to leave, frustration and pain make Ilia rush out to dismantle religious relics. This scene would cause Jalili quite a few problems as the religious authorities thought it showed signs of religious rebelliousness.Dance of Dust is Jalili’s most poetic film. The film has hardly any dialogue. A combination of abstract sounds and images, metaphors and symbols highlight the intensity of the emotion experienced in silence between the young children, who probably speak different dialects anyway. Their silent communication also reflects their intense solitude, and the force of destiny which can separate them anytime. A drop of rain is enough to change their lives. For Dance of Dust – ‘the only film I love’ – Jalili faced stiff criticism and encountered many difficulties in getting it distributed. The film was screened once in 1996 and only released in 1998.
