The Salt of the Earth (2014)

Co-directed by his son, this documentary chronicles the career of photographer Sebastião Salgado. Trained as an economist, Salgado almost accidentally stumbled into his chosen career after his wife bought him a camera in Paris. After that moment, his work took him across the globe, photographing native tribes in South America, famine in Africa, and wars in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Filming the worst of humanity led him to begin work reforesting his native Brazil and a somewhat renewed career in wildlife photography. His photographs are beautiful, dramatic, stark, and real. I hadn’t been aware of the artist before and this documentary gives a close view into his life and work.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Feature