A visually stunning and deeply humane documentary about the life and work of Sebastião Salgado, one of the world’s most influential social photographers. Co-directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, the film chronicles Salgado’s lifelong journey documenting the struggles and resilience of communities around the world — and his later turn toward environmental restoration and healing.

Spanning more than forty years and six continents, The Salt of the Earth takes viewers through some of the most extraordinary — and painful — landscapes of modern history: gold miners in Brazil’s Serra Pelada, famine in the Sahel, the genocide in Rwanda, the oil fires of Kuwait, and the mass migrations of the global South. Through his camera, Salgado reveals both the devastation and the dignity of humanity, connecting individual suffering to global systems of exploitation, war, and inequality.

But the film is not only about human endurance — it is also a meditation on the entire living world. As Salgado’s work expands, his gaze widens to include the planet itself: mountains, oceans, forests, and animals — the Earth as a shared organism. His later project, Genesis, celebrates the beauty and diversity of the natural world, reframing environmental protection as a continuation of his life’s work in solidarity with all species.

When the trauma of witnessing so much destruction becomes overwhelming, Salgado and his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado return to their homeland in Brazil to restore their family’s barren cattle ranch. Together they plant over 2.7 million trees, giving birth to the Instituto Terra, a thriving forest that stands as both ecological miracle and moral compass. In regenerating the land, they rediscover hope — proving that healing the Earth is inseparable from healing ourselves.

The Salt of the Earth spans the globe — from the Arctic to the Amazon, from refugee camps to rewilded forests — offering a sweeping portrait of humanity as part of, not apart from, nature. It is a film about bearing witness, about how art and empathy can become acts of resistance, and about reclaiming our place within the living world.

Profoundly moving and visually transcendent, The Salt of the Earth is essential viewing for adults and older teens interested in environmental justice, human rights, and the power of witness to inspire transformation.