Salt White

Colour, 35 mm
Georgia, 2011, 80 min
WP – World premiere
Section: East of the West - Films in Competition

Synopsis

In a story that unfolds on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, three characters try to change their current lives. Thirty-five-year-old Nana works as a seasonal waitress who dreams of opening a small café in her home town. Police officer Niko is an Abkhazian refugee who has yet to deal with the wounds he suffered during the former conflict. Young Sopo is homeless; she hangs around with a group of young people whose high jinks the police are trying to keep under control. While running from the cops, Sopo meets Nana, who decides to help her. The girl’s dream of beaches as white as salt moves her to take a decisive step. In her feature debut, director Keti Machavariani focuses primarily on atmosphere. Her simple visual compositions, punctuated by spare dialogue, glue viewers to their seats till the very end.

About the director

Keti Machavariani (b. 1972) graduated from the faculty of art of Tbilisi State University in 1995 before graduating in film direction (2002). Thanks to a scholarship from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2005-06 she became acquainted with the workings of Italy’s state-run RAI TV station. Back in Georgia she shot several successful short films and directed and produced television programs. She also cooperated on the features of her colleagues. She was involved as an executive producer on Street Days (Quchis dgeebi, 2010, dir. Levan Koguashvili) and took a small role in Otar Ioseliani’s latest film Chantrapas (2010). She enjoys putting her production skills to good use internationally. Salt White, based on several supranational projects, is her feature debut.