Banned Cinema: SALT OF THE EARTH with Associate Producer in Person

Invited Guest: Sonja Dahl Biberman
SALT OF THE EARTH - Saturday, May 1, 7:00
$10 / $8 Film Institute Members

Rarely screened publicly, this remarkable drama represents the collaboration of blackballed union activists with blacklisted Hollywood artists and writers. Most of the professionals involved in this production were blacklisted by Hollywood at the time: director Herbert Biberman, producer Paul Jarrico, writer Michael Wilson, composer Sol Kaplan and actor Will Geer. With a story based on a 1950 strike in New Mexico, the film was eloquently well ahead of its time in dealing with such issues as discrimination against Mexican-American workers, racism and women’s rights. The production was subject to constant harassment by the FBI and other agencies, and it was suppressed in its release, with the filmmakers unable to find more than a few theaters in the US that would show it. However, Salt of the Earth endures and remains modern and relevant today, Also with: Rosaura Revueltas, Juan Chacón. (US 1953) 94 min.

Print courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. We have invited Sonja Dahl Biberman, associate producer on the film, to come share her memories and experiences.