This Dust Of Words

Please contact Bill Rose to request Hi Res Photos for publication: bill@thisdustofwords.com

Film Synopsis (PDF)

"Writer-director Bill Rose is a cinematic poet. With its lyrical rhythms and contemplative visuals, THIS DUST OF WORDS unfolds as an achingly beautiful documentary about Elizabeth Wiltsee, a brilliant Stanford University graduate and promising writer. The haunting sixty minute film is as much an ode to small-town America as an elegy for a sensitive soul who chose to live in the streets and go into the wild rather than find a traditional slot in society. The Palo Alto filmmaker (THE LOSS OF NAMELESS THINGS) again looks into the eyes of a creative artist who seemingly slips into an abyss. Instead of delving into the darkness of shattered dreams, Rose finds the solace and beauty of his subjects' unconventional lives."

"Like his celebrated first film, The Loss of Nameless Things, Bill Rose's newest documentary This Dust of Words is a meditation on genius and disorder. Rose makes us understand both by the time the tale is through. He analyzes the inner turmoil that destroyed a lovely and intelligent writer, and he also credits the kindness of the small community that helped keep her alive, for a time. Rose's compassion for his subject is evident through out: This Dust of Words is rich with strange, solemn beauty...

The edge This Dust of Words will have over the competition is that it appeals to romantics, to the same audience that loved Into the Wild.
I liked this one better, frankly. Rose's film is both memoir and detective story..."

"Gorgeously shot and chock full of archival footage as to help truly draw the viewer into the life of Elizabeth Wiltsee..." FOUR STARS

"This beautiful and elegaic documentary chases the tragic life of Elizabeth Wiltsee, a gifted Stanford student whose battles with mental illness led to her being homeless in Watsonville and eventually her disappearance and death. As much as testament to the community surrounding St. Patrick's Church in Watsonville as a biography of Wiltsee, "Dust" retains a mournful tone of mystery of a woman who maintained her dignity during a tragic downward spiral."

"Elizabeth Wiltsee was a brilliant child. Not in the way everyone believes his or her child is smart. As child Wiltsee was smarter than many adults I know; smarter than the average Republican voter that is for sure. As she grew older Wiltsee's mind took on an imagination of its own. Once on top of her game, Wiltsee eventually was reduced to roaming the streets and library of Watsonville. In this fine documentary, Bill Rose traces the steps of this extraordinary woman and the lives whom she touched and who touched her."