I showed this to an Indian Friend who works in IT, currently working for a client in UK, living in UK for 1 year and will be returning soon to live again in Bangalore. He is from Mumbia originally. He feels the Western world doesn’t show India in a good light and only focuses on the worst parts like: Rape, Poverty, Arranged marriages (where they don’t work etc). His reaction to the film was, that it’s not true, how can India be the third biggest producer of salt and do it by hand, all of it or most must be done by technology and in large factories.
How can you interact with people who don’t want to discuss or see certain parts of their own country?
As a UK citizen, I have a good job and am financially secure, but I will always want to watch benefit shows and other documentaries about the struggles of British people appreciate how others live and the strengths they have to do what they do etc… I do not just watch the best bits of Britain etc.
Amit Jindal / 12-5-2017 / ·
hey!
I watched this film on epic channel. I am spellbound by it. would you tell me, how you choose the crew for the film? especially Lutz Konermann. I read about him, he is a maestro.
salt / 12-6-2017 / ·
Hey Amit,
Thanks a lot for your enthusiastic response!
As far as your question goes, the crew came together one by one. Farida and Lutz first met on another documentary shoot, “Dharavi, Slum for Sale”, directed and photographed by Lutz with Farida as Assistant Director. They went on collaborating from there and are currently on their fourth film together. The editor, Katharina Fiedler, is an alumni of Ludwigsburg Filmschool in Germany where Lutz teaches. And Marcel Vaid, an Indo-Swiss, is one of the most sought-after composers in Switzerland these days. They met in Zurich, where the film was post-produced.
Are you into film production, too?
Best
Bill Wilson / 9-6-2020 / ·
Where did the crew live during production? What were the difficulties in shooting a film in such an unusual location?
salt / 9-7-2020 / ·
Hi Bill,
The crew lived with the family, sleeping out in the open in summer and inside their hut in winter. The shooting took a total of sixty days spread out over more than eight months.
The major challenge was power supply to recharge the camera, laptop and lighting batteries. We brought two solar panels and a small car battery for buffering. Also, not having a toilet and just very little water a day at our personal disposal proved a bit challenging over time… 😉
Daisy Olivarez / 8-22-2021 / ·
Beautiful Documentary , I would love to see another documentary about this family, my kids we’re watching it with us and loved the scenes of the kids in the documentary, also it would be so interesting to see how is their life after they live their fields and go back to their villages. Also a website is go fund me to help the families would be nice, my kids said they wanted to help them and got sad they were not going to pay good for the salt after all the work they had done
salt / 9-7-2021 / ·
Thank you, Daisy, for your heartfelt response. We appreciate that your children, too, were affected by the documentary and the lives portrayed in it. The experience will certainly contribute to their awareness of different realities. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution or quick fix for the inequalities in our world. But it is all the more important that your kids are sensitive towards them.
Jenny / 6-14-2022 / ·
Hi, wonderful documentary! Did the family got compensated for being in the film? Also, how many lbs/kgs of salt were produced? Do you know what the range of payment for the salt is?
Thank you for making such a cool film.
salt / 6-14-2022 / ·
Thanks Jenny, we’re glad the film found you. 🙂 As for your questions, the year we shot (2011) they harvested 1600 tons of salt at the equivalent of 2.50 USD/ton. That was their gross revenue from which all expenses incl. diesel for the pumps, etc. had to be covered. Basically, it having been a good year, they managed not to be in debt… As a film crew of three we contributed to food and lodging during our stays with them. Beyond that we never compensate the protagonists of our documentaries.
Morten Gulliksen / 8-7-2022 / ·
I love this beautiful film. Have seen it several times now over the years since it became available to stream.
It certainly puts my own life and work into perspective and how lucky I am to have the life me and my family is leading.
How are the cast of the film doing these days? Is there a way to send them funds to help the families?
salt / 11-7-2022 / ·
Thanks for your kind feedback, Morten. The last time we were in touch with them they were doing fine!
Kerry / 8-18-2022 / ·
Hi! I enjoyed watching my name is salt. However, I have a question: I would like to know where did they get their electricity from?
salt / 8-19-2022 / ·
Hi, Kerry! The little energy they needed for battery lights and cell phone charging came from the diesel pumps, through a DC-generator and a car battery.
Isabel / 5-14-2024 / ·
Hello, I just watched the film and I really enjoyed it.
Can you give an update on the family? Are they still doing the same work?
Is it possible to support them in any way?
salt / 8-17-2024 / ·
Thank you, Isabel. The family is doing fine, with the children marrying one by one… 🙂 Some of them are following in the tradition of their parents, some of them are branching off.
How can I see this film? Incredibly interested.
Hello Richard,
We’re so sorry for the late reply!
Should you still be interested in watching Farida Pacha’s award winning film here’s the good news, finally.
“My Name is Salt” has become available online worldwide:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mynameissalt2
Additionally, it’s out on Amazon Video @ http://www.amazon.com and http://www.amazon.co.uk!
For views from Switzerland, Germany, Austria please go to
https://www.trigon-film.org/…/vod/collection/My_Name_is_Salt
Best,
Leafbird Films
How can I see the entire film? I learned of it on NPR and it looks beautiful…
Hello Sallygirl,
We’re so sorry for the late reply!
Should you still be interested in watching Farida Pacha’s award winning film here’s the good news, finally.
“My Name is Salt” has become available online worldwide:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mynameissalt2
Additionally, it’s out on Amazon Video @ http://www.amazon.com and http://www.amazon.co.uk!
For views from Switzerland, Germany, Austria please go to
https://www.trigon-film.org/…/vod/collection/My_Name_is_Salt
Best,
Leafbird Films
I showed this to an Indian Friend who works in IT, currently working for a client in UK, living in UK for 1 year and will be returning soon to live again in Bangalore. He is from Mumbia originally. He feels the Western world doesn’t show India in a good light and only focuses on the worst parts like: Rape, Poverty, Arranged marriages (where they don’t work etc). His reaction to the film was, that it’s not true, how can India be the third biggest producer of salt and do it by hand, all of it or most must be done by technology and in large factories.
How can you interact with people who don’t want to discuss or see certain parts of their own country?
As a UK citizen, I have a good job and am financially secure, but I will always want to watch benefit shows and other documentaries about the struggles of British people appreciate how others live and the strengths they have to do what they do etc… I do not just watch the best bits of Britain etc.
hey!
I watched this film on epic channel. I am spellbound by it. would you tell me, how you choose the crew for the film? especially Lutz Konermann. I read about him, he is a maestro.
Hey Amit,
Thanks a lot for your enthusiastic response!
As far as your question goes, the crew came together one by one. Farida and Lutz first met on another documentary shoot, “Dharavi, Slum for Sale”, directed and photographed by Lutz with Farida as Assistant Director. They went on collaborating from there and are currently on their fourth film together. The editor, Katharina Fiedler, is an alumni of Ludwigsburg Filmschool in Germany where Lutz teaches. And Marcel Vaid, an Indo-Swiss, is one of the most sought-after composers in Switzerland these days. They met in Zurich, where the film was post-produced.
Are you into film production, too?
Best
Where did the crew live during production? What were the difficulties in shooting a film in such an unusual location?
Hi Bill,
The crew lived with the family, sleeping out in the open in summer and inside their hut in winter. The shooting took a total of sixty days spread out over more than eight months.
The major challenge was power supply to recharge the camera, laptop and lighting batteries. We brought two solar panels and a small car battery for buffering. Also, not having a toilet and just very little water a day at our personal disposal proved a bit challenging over time… 😉
Beautiful Documentary , I would love to see another documentary about this family, my kids we’re watching it with us and loved the scenes of the kids in the documentary, also it would be so interesting to see how is their life after they live their fields and go back to their villages. Also a website is go fund me to help the families would be nice, my kids said they wanted to help them and got sad they were not going to pay good for the salt after all the work they had done
Thank you, Daisy, for your heartfelt response. We appreciate that your children, too, were affected by the documentary and the lives portrayed in it. The experience will certainly contribute to their awareness of different realities. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution or quick fix for the inequalities in our world. But it is all the more important that your kids are sensitive towards them.
Hi, wonderful documentary! Did the family got compensated for being in the film? Also, how many lbs/kgs of salt were produced? Do you know what the range of payment for the salt is?
Thank you for making such a cool film.
Thanks Jenny, we’re glad the film found you. 🙂 As for your questions, the year we shot (2011) they harvested 1600 tons of salt at the equivalent of 2.50 USD/ton. That was their gross revenue from which all expenses incl. diesel for the pumps, etc. had to be covered. Basically, it having been a good year, they managed not to be in debt… As a film crew of three we contributed to food and lodging during our stays with them. Beyond that we never compensate the protagonists of our documentaries.
I love this beautiful film. Have seen it several times now over the years since it became available to stream.
It certainly puts my own life and work into perspective and how lucky I am to have the life me and my family is leading.
How are the cast of the film doing these days? Is there a way to send them funds to help the families?
Thanks for your kind feedback, Morten. The last time we were in touch with them they were doing fine!
Hi! I enjoyed watching my name is salt. However, I have a question: I would like to know where did they get their electricity from?
Hi, Kerry! The little energy they needed for battery lights and cell phone charging came from the diesel pumps, through a DC-generator and a car battery.
Hello, I just watched the film and I really enjoyed it.
Can you give an update on the family? Are they still doing the same work?
Is it possible to support them in any way?
Thank you, Isabel. The family is doing fine, with the children marrying one by one… 🙂 Some of them are following in the tradition of their parents, some of them are branching off.