Unearthing the Pen

Director: Carol Salter

Year: 2020

In a forgotten seaside town in the north of England, seventy-eight year old Dave hands out food and kindness to those in need. After ten years of austerity, this nuanced portrait of a volunteer-run food bank penetrates the harsh reality of contemporary Britain.

Director: Carol Salter

Year: 2017

Seventeen-year-old Ying Ling is away from home training to become a mortician at one of China’s largest funeral homes. Despite her fear of ghosts and dead bodies, she learns the spa rituals; cleaning and massaging the corpses while the grieving families look on.<br /> Ying Ling finds solace from her macabre role through her playful banter with another of the young morticians. Together, they spend their time off talking about their hopes, fears and plans for the future. <br /> As one of many rural-to-urban teenagers working to support her family, Ying Ling must immerse herself in the surreal and grinding world of China’s industrialisation of mortality. With intimate access and moments of humour, we follow Ying Ling as she learns about life while surrounded by death. <br /> Official Selection Berlinale 2017 - Generation 14plus - World premiere

Director: Carol Salter

Year: 2008

Mayomi lost her husband to the Tamil Tigers, her mother and home to the Tsunami, and is now the only female member of her family, single-handedly caring for her disabled father, her alcoholic brother and his abandoned six-year old son. She is also still homeless and knows that, in a country crippled by bureaucracy and corruption, this is unlikely to change. The film follows Mayomi as she struggles to overcome the obstacles in and outside her family. Her optimism and courage drives her forward and also provides the heart of this moving and intimate film.<br />  <br /> An intimate portrait of a young woman struggling to gain independence, whilst holding her troubled family together.