Salt for Svanetia/მარილი სვანეთს (Georgia, 1930) with a Live Score

Klassiki and Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival are proud to present a screening of Salt for Svanetia (1930), an early silent masterpiece by the legendary Georgian director Mikhail Kalatozov, with a newly commissioned score written and performed by Georgian composer and singer Liza Kalandadze. While Dziga Vertov’s and Esfir Shub’s work may be better known in the West, Salt for Svanetia represents a unique example of Soviet cinematic avant-garde, crossing the genre between documentary, decolonial expression and state propaganda. A riotous experiment in camera technique, editing, and the use of non-professional actors, and an invaluable document in the history of cinema and/in the Soviet Union, this complex film will be screened with a world-premiere score, performed in person.

Salt for Svanetia can also be watched online (Sep 27 - Oct 11) thanks to our partner Klassiki.

Samizdat is supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI. It is jointly funded by the European Cultural Foundation (Culture of Solidarity Fund — Ukraine Special Edition).

Accessibility

Financial support to attend the festival is available to eligible applicants via Samizdat's Access Fund.

Content Notes: Depictions of animal violence, violence, grief, nudity, death (including infant death), state oppression, poverty, and hardship.

Access Notes: Black and white cinematography, strobing, flashing lights during some sequences, silent film, intertitles (in Russian).