The Williams Lake Film Club will present its next film The Salt of the Earth Tuesday, April 5, at the Gibraltar Room.
The Salt of the Earth was written and directed by German director Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, son of Sebastiao Salgado, possibly one of the best photographers in the world.
Wim Wenders is not only a very successful film director, some of his best known films are Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club, and Pina, but he is also a very accomplished photographer himself with exhibits all around the world.
Years ago he became interested in the work of photographer Sebastiao Salgado, and you will understand why.
What I don’t understand is why the name was quite unfamiliar to me, shame on me I admit.
When I read so much about it last year in the German news, I had to find out who this Salgado is. And I am sure glad I did.
And then we previewed the film — what can I say.
The words coming to my mind are — overwhelming, incredibly beautiful, awesome, powerful, unforgettable.
This documentary is about the life and work of photographer Sebastiao Salgado, who has spent 40 years documenting deprived societies in hidden corners of the world.
During these years he has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever changing humanity.
He has witnessed some of the major events of our recent history — international conflicts, starvation and exodus.
Instead of turning bitter and sarcastic, he realized the opposite, the beauty of the world.
He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna and flora, and of grandiose landscapes as part of a huge photographic project which is a tribute of the planet’s beauty.
He moved away from social photography and began focusing on the environment. The growth of a seedling on his family farm is used to illustrate Salgado’s rediscovery of hope and faith in mankind.
Man is The Salt of the Earth, it can be for the good or for the bad of the earth.
Salgado does not judge, he does not pontificate, he simply shows you the images of the world through his lens.
Let them speak to you, let them stay with you.
Images which will leave stains on your soul (Rupert Hawksley, The Telegraph).
The Salt of the Earth is a documentary, genre of biography and history.
It is rated PG 13 for thematic material involving disturbing images of violence and human suffering, and for some nudity.
The film is in colour and black and white and runs for 110 minute. The countries of origin are France, Brazil and Italy.
The language is mostly English or English subtitles. It has been released in 2015 and been nominated for an Academy Award.
Wenders did not win, however, he had been awarded an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris
We are happy to be able to show you this film next Tuesday, April 5.
Let us watch this film together and be immersed in a reality we never have seen like this before.
Screening starts at 7 p.m., back doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 regular, $8 for Film Club members, and $6 for seniors (65+) and students, High School and TRU.