Year after year, 40,000 village members, including Sanabhai and his family, migrate to a seasonal saline desert in Gujarat, India. Here, they harvest what they proudly proclaim to be the world’s whitest salt, using the same painstaking, manual techniques as generations before them. Hardship and exploitation loom large in this film, but director Farida Pacha lets this speak for itself, instead fixing her gaze on the poetry and ritual of Sanabhai and his family’s existence. Exquisite camerawork and a haunting score help Pacha expose the austere beauty of the subject.
Screening time: Saturday, May 6, 5:16 pm, The Shedd Recital Hall
Length: 96 min.
Country: India
Language: Gujarati with English subtitles
Director: Farida Pacha
Producer: Farida Pacha
Producer Web site: http://mynameissalt.com/
Distributor: Documentary Educational Resources
Distributor Web site: http://www.der.org/