Manmade Waters

Dustin Elm was born and raised in southern California, and from a young age, he took to filmmaking. He spent much of his childhood with a camera in hand, making homemade surfing and fishing videos. While attending high school, Dustin took to nature-based documentary work, focusing on California’s natural wonders. Dustin’s love for the outdoors led him to San Diego State University, where he studied Environmental Engineering. As an undergraduate student, he befriended several film students and got involved in small local productions. These undergrad productions would prove to be the beginning of his professional film career.

During Dustin’s final semester at SDSU, he conceived an idea for a documentary film project centered on the resurgence of American music festivals. After shooting a trailer at Coachella music festival, he raised funding from an investor and began work on his first professional film. Three days after graduating, Dustin and nine others hit the road for four months, driving more than 12,000 miles in a 1973 greyhound bus to attend 12 major music festivals. The production was a major steppingstone in Dustin’s filmmaking career, giving him the final push to pursue a formal education in film production.

Dustin is now attending the University of Southern California, working on his Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production. He looks to focus on directing and producing, while expanding his knowledge and cultivating a unique creative vision in order to achieve his ultimate goal – directing environmentally centered, thought provoking content.