Salt for Svanetia

Salt for Svanetia Georgian , Russian is a 1930 Georgian silent documentary film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. As one of the earliest ethnographic films, it documents the life of the Svan people in the isolated mountain village of Ushguli in Svanetia, in the northwestern part of the Georgian Soviet Republic. Containing some propaganda, the climax of the film shows how a Soviet built road connects the previously isolated mountain village to Soviet civilisation. Many of the scenes of the film were staged, and the authenticity of some scenes has been disputed by the Svan people.

The film then concentrates on the lack of salt supplies. Cut off from the outside world for most of the year, the village suffers from a shortage of salt. It is shown how this forces the animals to lick human sweat and urine. A party of workers, returning from migratory labor farther down the valley, are shown bringing salt back to the village. Most of them die when they are crushed by an avalanche. The solution to the salt shortage is presented in the climax of the film where the young Soviet power builds a road that connects the isolated region to the outside world. The film shows how teams of construction workers with their steamrollers arrive, cutting down a forest that is the last obstacle for the road that will connect the Svan people with Soviet civilisation.Svanetia was an underdeveloped region, and thus Soviet planners tried to make it a showcase of Soviet modernization during the First FiveYear Plan between 1928 and 1932. During this time roads were built, an air service was established and industries such as mining and lumbering were developed. At the same time Soviet authorities tried to change and sovietize the traditional life of the Svan people. It was against this background of Svanetia as a showcase of Soviet modernization that Salt for Svanetia was produced. ........

Source: Wikipedia