‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’ - Sundance

Raven Jackson asks her audience to be still and feel the world around them as she paints a poetic portrait of a Black woman’s lifetime connection to nature.

Mack’s mind opens up to share a glimpse of her memories of being a Black girl from Mississippi. Presented nonlinear, these are the moments that shape Mack into adulthood. Jackson transforms simple actions of taking a bath or fishing into an emotional experience that will stay with Mack throughout her life. Following Mack through infancy to old age, Mack uses her connection with nature and others to navigate through love and loss. The one connection that maintains consistency throughout her life is the one she has with nature. From the beginning, the tone is set during a fishing trip with Mack, her father, and her sister but the camera only pans to their hands emphasizing touch. Hands become a constant theme as she brings in the connection between people and the nature around them. 

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is an immersive sensory experience by curating all the integral moments of Mack’s life that has shaped her. Jackson opts out of traditional dialogue in favor of sound and visuals. Mack’s emotions stem from the sense of touch that brings her back to a special place or moment matched with the hypnotic sound that sparks nostalgia. When people remember moments they are fueled by their senses and Jackson perfectly captures that through the film where are times it feels like it transcends the screen to the viewer.  

The nonlinear choice of jumping between time periods forces the audience to be intuned with the soundscape and visuals Jackson masterfully interlaces into the story. There is no music but the sound of cicadas and pouring rain create a score for the story. It is formatted to replicate how memories flood our minds and fade quickly. Even though they are memories there is a feeling of the present with the beautiful cinematography of Jomo Fray. By encompassing all senses, Jackson gives her audience moments to calm down and feel the earth beneath them. As the viewers' senses are activated you can almost feel the texture of the grass or smell the rain in Jackson’s ambitious filmmaking. Mack’s life moves like a poem as different sounds move into each sequence threading them all together like the lyrics of a song.

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a serene poem that will linger in the minds of its viewers and inspire them to think back on the moments that made them who they are today and reconnect with the world around them.