Directed by Farida Pacha | 58’/92’ | Switzerland, India 2013 | OV: Gujarati | Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Year after year, Sanabhai brings his family to a seasonal, saline desert in Gujerat India, where they harvest what they proudly proclaim to be the world's whitest salt, using the same painstaiking, manual techniques as generations before them. Hardship and exploitation loom large in this film, but director Farida Pacha lets this speak for itself, instead fixing her gaze on the poetry and ritual of Sanabhai and his family's existence. Exquisite camerawork and a haunting score help Pacha expose the austere beauty of the subject. “A beautifully-crafted meditation on the grueling work of salt production. (…) Director Farida Pacha and her cinematographer Lutz Konermann manage to distill this process into something exquisite, a film crystalline in its austere purity, like the commodity of the title.” Hollywood Reporter “Made with intimacy and compassion, the winning film (…) is never less than intriguing and gently fascinating. A beautifully observed film that takes the viewer on an absorbing journey into a strange and striking world.” Jury Statement IDFA Award for First Appearance "This stunningly poised portrait of a season's salt-panning … [is] a meditative, immersive picture of labour as an act of faith, made with striking flair and beauty." Sight & Sound International Sales: info@magnetfilm.de / magnetfilm.de