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Presentation of The Salt of the Earth

The Salt of the Earth (2013), a film directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, had its international premiere at the 12^th FICM. This project grew out of the common interests of both directors. On the one hand, Wim Wenders has researched through the documentary format the creative processes of various personalities from the artistic world, such as Pina Bausch, Yohji Yamamoto and the Buena Vista Social Club. On the other, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado felt the need to get close to his father through the lens of his camera and started to film the legendary Sebastião Salgado, one of the most important documentary photographers in the world.

Several interesting things emerge in the process of production of this great work. In addition to the filming stage of Sebastião’s most recent trip, there was the challenge of reviewing his work to fully understand the artist. The artistic solution that they found was a magnificent visual device – where the facial expression and the photographer’s reaction to being in front of his works are displayed. At the same time, it also manages to conserve the intimacy of the review of his work and avoid a break in the memories of the person portrayed. The result is an intimate piece that goes from disappointment to hope that allows us to enter the world of Wim Wenders and Sebastião Salgado, two legends accompanied by the look of the son and the friend.

In presenting the film, the co-director Juliano Ribeiro Salgado said:

On the process of making the film:

“It was done in three stages: writing, thinking about how to tell the story took a year and a half; the second was quick, the interviews with Sebastião were filmed in about six months. I had already traveled with him on his latest project and then together we went to Brazil to make the end of the film. But the hardest thing was when we reached the third stage because having two directors is very complicated. The editing was difficult for that reason, and after a year we realized what we had done. It was not at Sebastião’s level, and we sat down for two months to correct it.”

On the father and son meeting at the end of the work:

“At the beginning, in 2009, I was afraid to make a film about my father because of some fights and other reasons. But Sebastião insisted that I accompany him on a trip to the Amazon. It was our first trip together. I was scared because of the language and at the end, they are all so uncomplicated and so loving and sweet, and we had a good relationship. It was a very important thing for both of us. Sebastião was very excited when he saw how we filmed him and how he looked.”

On the legend of Sebastião Salgado:

“When we started making the film something was very clear: on the one hand, Sebastião is an amazing photographer, but he also was a very important witness of important events for 48 years. We wanted to make a film about the person who had that unique experience, through whom we could learn many things that we normally do not have the chance to witness. We quickly realized it would be possible to have this in a film in honor of him, one that is very realistic about what the world is: often a terrible thing. We wanted to review it for all of us: a time of crisis, very dark, and to know how we can change things. At least we have a dream of what a better world could be, and that it’s possible to change things when we try.”

Coverage by Fabiola Aguilar Díaz (@panoramafunky)