Sci-Fi Short Film “Aeranger" | DUST 

Want to give a shout out to filmmaker Anthony Ferraro for this film. He not only wrote and directed the film, but handled the VFX and editing. 🙌 He has been a DUST fan for a long time and an active member in the Portal. We hope to see many more fans inspired to create sci-fi, congrats!

Something I’ve repeatedly noticed from the Dust comments section: We are never satisfied with a wonderfully told short story. We always want an entire season of episodes to expand on the subject. I feel this rendition leaves you being much more thoughtful and inspired.

The Blue stone tree, or Wawō'na tree, was a famous giant sequoia that was found in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, until February 1969. It was 227 feet (69 m) tall and 26 feet. (7.9 m) diameter at the base. The origin of the word Wawō'na is unknown.

Nature makes amazing things over thousands of years. Humans, "Lets cut a hole in it and drive through!"

“Can you do alien makeup?” “I can do elf makeup.” “That works...”

Why do aliens have so much trouble landing spaceships?

In the sequel, she starts an interior decorator business. It will be titled Re-Aeranger.

Thank you; I really enjoyed that. I want to say ‘Thank You’ to Dust and all of its contributors for making theses original sci-fi shorts. Please keep up the good work.

I can't figure out why, but as soon as she planted the tree I found myself thinking "Ooh, is it going to grow into a Giant Sequoia?" Probably just a random lucky guess! I love the ending, this is a kind of sci-fi that I love and can really enjoy after the fact as well, thinking about the implications. First line of thought to pursue: are the "elf aerangers" going to come back for their filters some time? I guess the intent is for them to show up and collect when the select few come out of hibernation. Did something happen to them and they died out because of a failure of the hibernation system? Are they still in hibernation, and will some day be coming to get what they need to restore their world? Have they already come and gone again, taking what they needed without appearing to or interfering with humanity? I'm sure I'll think of more ideas to ponder later on... In any case, inspiring me to think like this is a sign of a great work!

I like the story, acting is good. Don't care about the CGI. Sci-fi is about the stories.

I'm in love with Bobbie Breckenridge's captivating portrayal of the elf woman. ❤❤❤

When I was younger I had a dream about this alien dude who came to visit me, we talked the entire night (I don't remember what about tho) and when it was time for them to leave they asked if I wanted to go live on their planet, I had said no but thank you for the offer and that I wouldn't forget them, and I havent.... *whispers* it was one of the weirdest dreams I've had.....

I'd like to see one made about the Tunguska explosion and the brave sacrifice made by the crew of the ship to keep from hitting a populated area. I hope some talented Dust film maker will create it.

Wow this was unexpected... Out of nowhere I discovered a really intriguing and interesting fantasy short that is equally awesome

And that my friends, is how the Christmas began... Santa sent his most loyal Tinker Elves on a daring mission to Earth to plant the very first Christmas Tree. *Fun fact: Christmas lights were actually never intended to be on the tree itself but arranged on the ground as a magical warding.

It was a good story line.I was glad that she brought her own pot.It bothers me when people visit and don't bring their own.

This is one of the very few short Sci-Fi films that is worth watching. Most just impress you with graphics but have no complete, nor interesting, plot. Not only is this plot interesting, it's intelligent and the acting is very good. A truly great actor can say so much by just using their eyes and facial expressions. Steve McQueen, Melisa Tomei. This actress shows that skill. The director is also top notch.

I have been a Sci Fi lover my whole life and just found a treasure trove very impressed thank you.

Great little story! With a cool ending. Now, where can I get some of those blue stones to keep the rabbits out of my garden?

One MAJOR complaint about this Short movie. 🧐 I wish it was a lot longer!! Really, really great movie!⁸ 6 thumbs up !

The person she was speaking to saluted her with part of the Charm of Making from Excalibur...

Red hair, bangs, pointy ears...she's like a Vulcan Ginger!

Now that's what I call Science Fiction!! I was beginning to doubt that DUST was producing scifi that I like. But I have no doubts anymore!!!!!!! I LOVE DUST!

Loved it. But she planted the tree in what looks like a flash flood river bed. Bad elf!

More Elves must have landed near Norway later on.

I'd watch a full length feature film of this in a heartbeat. VERY nicely done!

Seriously, all that technology and no shovel?

Could easily be the intro to a full length movie . So frickin good , guys ! 👏 Thanks Dust as always , you totally rock 👍

Great storyline by Anthony Ferraro of the (TRUE?) creation of our huge redwood trees. I had the privilege of working near these giants and would always go visit the park when I was off.

"Anal nathroc, uthos pe thood, jonvel henvey" was the spell that Morgona spoke to capture Merlin in the movie "Excalibur" from 1980! Nice sneak in there! HAHA!!

Great to see the mammoths making a special guest appearance

The way she looks reminds me of something from the dark crystal XD

You’re supposed to *throw* the flash-bang grenade *away* from you

Faster that light communications! You pick your cooker pot, dial the number, then instantly the other person appears.

First 5 minutes depict an elf-alien hobbling around the same area her ship crashed. Next 5 minutes shows her planting a tree. Then she dies. Wait, what? She bounced back up just fine after the concussion grenade thing. Why does she die 60 seconds later? I think her sacrifice would've had more impact if she lived the remainder of her life alone on a foreign planet knowing that she saved not only her race, but her friend.

Dust is just plain awesome

I grew up in Northern California so this is cool to me..The Wow factor!🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Isn't it great how so many people can show their superior intellect by being cynical? On the other hand, there are some pretty funny comments... Kallelle(SP?), the space traveller, is hauntingly lovely. She has beautiful hands and a face you can stare at for hours and still know you haven't discovered all that is there. Nice touch that the only surviving Aeranger is a mother, and through her sacrifice has become mother of her race.

Stupend the cloning the tree giant on our planet! thank you DUST by the short films movies.

I think I understand it! Her home planet atmosphere was suffering because it didn’t have enough oxygen, hence the “deep sleep” 1/3 of the residents had to be put under, (and when you’re in deep sleep you use less oxygen). He also called it the filtration system and that’s essentially what trees do, they provide oxygen and essentially filter the air for us. Without enough trees and greenery we wouldn’t have enough oxygen so the fact that that tree grew so big and tall and was unable to be chopped down meant it was continuously supplying oxygen. That could’ve been one of the last tree seedlings from her home planet and ensuring that it would take root on earth and be able to grow provides a filtration system for the air so earth never meets the same fate her planet has. Humans had no idea it was even a problem at this point, we weren’t even speaking clearly as shown by the barbaric person, but it makes me wonder if their planet was just so ahead of ours that they saved ours before we even knew we needed saving. Another thing that supports the theory is that you can see when she first gets up from the crash she has this breathing apparatus on and actually removes it and seems to take some nice deep breaths and appears relieved. This makes me think that the air on her home planet is unsafe to breathe in or is very low on oxygen and the soil there cannot sustain the trees needed to provide the air filtration they need. That is why she checks the soil to see if it’s able to support growing the tree and they are so relieved when they see that the soil is essentially fertile. Obviously the blue Stones protected it so there was no way that the tree could die which is pretty cool but it makes me think that with all this technological advancements it’s amazing they just really needed some dirt and some air. It’s easy to forgo sustainability where technology is concerned and they ultimately had to travel to a much less civilized planet essentially very early B.C. as shown by the wooly mammoths to get what they needed in order to survive. That cautions us on our emphasis on advancement rather than sustainability (hint hint our current planet). Since her planet realized the oxygen crisis they sent out multiple people with the tiny trees and the tools they needed to hopefully plant them on other planets so that the other planets won’t meet the same fate theirs did. The stones ensure that for years and years to come oxygen is provided and those from the deep sleep will eventually be able to woken up and can now come to earth. That is my theory anyways, but if anyone disagrees or thinks similar, feel free to comment :)

2:10 What a lovely retro vintage lunchbox.

I have watched this several times...best of the Sci-Fi Shorts

She must have been pretty tough for her ship to be basically decimated and her not even showing a scratch.

Have you ever laid eyes on those giant trees? They're magnificent we went when I was a youngster. Being born in 1951 I had that honor. I sure wish they were around for you...well all our sake's.

And here I thought it was about an elf on a quest to find a place to plug in her Mr. Coffee.

The alien blessing is the spell from Excalibur.

Very good story. Good use of your funds on acting, location, and simple props and costumes.

Fun movie! 4:15 No Starbucks detected. No space coffee available.

Great job Anthony! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!! Superb storytelling! Loved the look and feel of your picture! I know you from the days of Marymount College. Glad to see how you have flourished as an Artist! Continued Success!!!!!!!!!

That denim jacket had every gadget you could think of except the shovel

Lucky she brought her rice pressure cooker.

definitely one of the better films on the dust channel for a long while.

Who knew that sink drains have telescopic properties.

The pigs ears on the alien being were enough for me! Poor bloody pigs!

Nice little nod at Excalibur at 6:45. “Anaal Natrakh Urfas Pethud.”

This should really be a franchise of movies seeing the other people's home world and so much more.

That’s it? The first sequoia was planted by an extraterrestrial elf?

Sounding like “Avatar” in the prehistoric Earth environment!

Haven't been to the DUST channel in a few months....it's good to be back!!

That was pretty cool, would like to see an expansion on this story

A very nice introduction to a story that should develop in our own minds and shouldn't be followed-up upon by the filmmaker. Give a finger and the "fans" will take a hand and before you know it, as a filmmaker, you're stuck between the wants of the fans and a grudge to give-in and we'll end-up with a result that's dissatisfactory for all parties.

Was that a Merlin quote from ol' Excalibur film I heard??? Nice

This is my favorite SF short. watched it several times...posted 2021 and still watching it in 2024

She is astoundingly beautiful...

Checking for my side arm would have been my first move upon waking up.

Can't wait to meet them space refugees, itll be hella crazy.

Anáil nathrach, ortha bháis is beatha, do chéal déanaimh That's Merlin's chant from Excalibur...Irish, I knew it!

Makes sense that she was thrown from the ship as seat belts weren't around until the late 1940's. I'm just disappointed that the sabertoothed woodchucks stole her DL-44 blaster. =) Kallelle: "I _have_ touchdown." _WOO HOO! 6 points!_

I love this Film. I could watch it 100 times over

Not bad for a film made on a $100 budget. (includes meals)

Recently moved to Fife in Scotland and was bored so looked for any local authors work that may interest me, I found 1 and haven't needed to look again yet. Ian M Banks reading his books have led me to find Dust, awesomess

Awesome!! I love "Origin" stories....Oh, and who is to say Elves were not aliens?

This could be made into a feature film. Well done.

I thought this was a cool story. I sometimes write a little sci-fi and enjoy the twist folks will put on their own stories. So...now we know where the giant Sequoia trees came from. He he he he :)

Elves are nature lovers and protectors. However did no one else hear the guy say they would travel to earth to harvest the filters a.k.a. the trees. That means that at some point elves will deforrest our planet for their own needs. I love how this short mixed sci-fi and fantasy with a history twist. The nods and references to other fantasy and sci-fi works is excellent. A common ancestor for all of our species great stories as well as origins for many of our beliefs and ideologies.

I want more! 💙 continue the story 😍

Sci-fi shorts pre 1990ish are just so different, like they don't all have the same themes and motifs so the conclusion is therefore usually more of a surprise. A goal that should presumably be easier amongst this genre of writing by its very nature.

Great film with a cool concept... I was hoping the hologram device would do something cool like put a protective barrier around her and create a shelter so she could also enter the great sleep until her people arrived

So it wasn't a rice cooker but a plant terrarium. Cool. Loved the ending with the blue stones. Just wish I had several to keep those pesky Swamp Wallibies, possums and naughty White Cockatoos off my veggie patch and fruit trees in my Sydney home. Very enjoyable movie thank you.

Not sure what they were trying to accomplish. So she plants a tree on stone-age Earth and sometime in the future her people will arrive and do some logging?

My favorite story.

Interesting half quote of the charm of making from Excalibur-1981. Great if a student/amateur project, substandard if from a professional studio.

Call me crazy, but its a good story. Thats more worth than all the visual effects!

You know, the pacing was lackluster, the CGI uninspired, the dialog stilted (though I did enjoy the nod to Boorman's Excaliber at 6:44). All that said, I enjoyed the film, as it provided a glimpse into a possible origin story for one of the most impressive of Earth's lifeforms.

OMG so cool! Reminded me of an episode of the Twilight Zone. I just discovered Dust yesterday and I'm still stoked. Awesome content.

Apparently they have an American Eagle Outfitters on this girl's home planet.

I'm stopping to make this comment at 4:16, but it reminds me of my elf alien playthrough of Stellaris. We found a primitive earth, like, literally us when we were cavemen, and I put an observation post above it, one of our scientists went for a passing scan of the planet, had a crash and was forced to survive. Unfortunately for her, she was killed by a large cat, and we took her body home for burial.

Brilliant idea well done. The elf alien idea was nice also brilliant.

This is way too good to be so short! Where is the rest of it?! Please make more of it?! Please? Thank you. Jesus Christ Loves You...

FAROUT! Love DUST scifi

I really liked this one. I am from California, and I have visited and hugged and walked through some of the giant sequoias. I love the California Redwood. This story had mystery,suspense, apprehension, new tech toys, and a self-sufficient female lead. The blue-ish green about her eyes struck me as the residue from a pair of googles lost in the crash. I didn't quite understand the neanderthal threat,but I suspected this film takes up the question of how homo sapiens interacted with neanderthal. I loved the explanation for the mystery of the trees height and the stones at the base of the tree. I think the young lady was a subsequent Spock in appearance, or maybe a cross between the first Klingons and Yodarians. Very satisfying. Done well in a small set.

In a valley like this, at that distance, you would see bright flash just before the fireball, then a few moments later a deep "m80 in a trash can" type pop, followed by a reverberation of 3 distinct explosions that echo off the valley walls. Your sound guy(/person/attack helicopter) should try this one again...

Yeah that was good. Good story and well done. I loved it when she revealed the 'filter'. Great Tree kudos at the end. Nice.

Seems chancy to depend on one individual tree being planted.

Shannara Chronicals definitely came to mind, but this is different. I would love to see it expanded upon more... fill it with more life. VERY COOL, again... most impressed.

Dust Magic! Thank you

What an amazing film. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see or hear dialogue and to see where it was going. It reminded me a little bit of Jim Hensons "The Dark Crystal" I look forward to seeing more from the director and the creative team involved with this project!

Well, that was creepy... I'll never look at a sequoia the same again...

Good job Anthony Ferraro this was a captivating short. However I wanted it to go on and learn what happened to her people and of course her son. But that was nice of her to bring us redwood trees.

5 minutes in and i want to scream "give this actress limping lessons ffs!" Amazing how something like this interferes with getting into the story.