Widely regarded as one of the greatest documentaries ever made, Salt for Svanetia is an ethnography of the harsh and disappearing life of the mountain people of the Svan people of Georgia. It is a riotous experiment in camera technique, editing, and the use of non- professional actors. It is also a unique example of Soviet cinematic avant-garde, crossing the genre between documentary, decolonial expression and state propaganda. Director Mikhail Kalatozov was heavily criticised for the film, and it was only 30 years later, after the death of Joseph Stalin, that he redeemed his reputation with another unforgettable masterpiece, the anti-war Palme d’Or winning romance, The Cranes are Flying (1958).
This is the London premiere of a new score created for the film by up and coming Georgian composer Liza Kalandadze, who will also be performing her own music.
The film will be introduced by Emma Widdis, Professor in Russian and Film Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Content Warning: Contains scenes of unsimulated animal death.