Sweet Salty Lao

This short wordless documentary is an account of one day in Ban Nateuy, Laos. Salt mining is the basis of life in this village. The workday begins when an empty truck pulls up. In the evening it drives off, filled with salt bales. Largely chronologically, the camera registers the daily routine of the people working in the traditional salt industry. Men scraping the salt and letting it drain, women filling the 22-pound sacks and turning them into bales. For their first joint documentary, motion graphics designer Thijs Dikshoorn and artist Hélène Kocken opted for long shots. The camera tells the story. Static picturesque images, the repetitive musical sounds of machines and the hacking of tools produce an almost romantic impression of a traditional branch of industry. At the same time, the harsh reality of hard work for low wages is not ignored.