‘All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt’ Exclusive: A Conversation With Director Raven Jackson

It
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
Raven
Jackson,
the
director
behind

A24’s
film

All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt,
is
a
prizewinning

poet.

Not
only
does
Jackson
accomplish
a
lot
with
very
few
words,
but
she
has
an
incredible
way
of
making
audiences
feel
what
they’re
watching.
While
the
film
offers
very
little
dialogue,
it
quite
powerfully
engages
viewers
in
a
sensory
way.
Check
out
the
trailer
below
for
a
glimpse
of 

All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt.

The
trailer
is
stunning,
but
some
might
feel
that
it
leaves
the
audience
with
more
questions
than
answers.
Fortunately
we
were
able
to
speak
with
the
director
Raven
Jackson
about
her
feature
debut.

“It’s
a
film
that
lyrically
explores
the
life
of
Mack,
a
Black
woman
in
Mississippi,
and
it
does
so
by
fluently
drifting
through
experiences
of
her
life
at
different
ages
and
moments,”
Jackson
told
Global
Grind
when
asked
what
she
would
tell
someone
what

All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt
is
about.
“A
question
that
I
asked
myself
when
I
came
to
the
film
is,
If
our
lives
were
to
flood,
what
are
those
moments
that
would
rise
this
surface
and
how
would
they
speak
to
each
other?
How
would
they
spill
in
between
each
other?
So
that’s
a
question
that
really
guided
me
with
this
project
and
so
it’s
a
film
but
it’s
also
an
experience
you
know
and
I
love
the
thought
of
the
audience
allowing
it
to
wash
over
them.”

‘All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt’
Tells
The
Story
Of
Southern
Black
Family

We
were
particularly
drawn
to
the
way
the
film
showcases
Mack’s
family
and
the
importance
of
her
relationship
with
her
sister,
mother,
father,
and
grandmother.
Jackson
revealed
that
some
aspects
of
the
film
directly
mirrored
her
own
experiences
with
family.

“For
me
the
film
deals
a
lot
with
family,
a
lot
with
community,
a
lot
is
passed
from
generation
to
generation
and
also
how
our
lives
change,
our
relationships
change,
family
changes,”
Jackson
explained
to
Global
Grind.
“For
me,
the
generational
aspect
was
important
because
when
thinking
of
family
I’m
thinking
of
different
generations.
My
relationship
with
my
grandma
was
very
close
on
both
sides
of
my
family,
but
particularly
with
this
film,
my
maternal
grandmother,
and
my
relationship
with
her
really
informed
this
film.
For
instance,
the
title
of
the
film
comes
from
a
conversation
I
had
with
her
around
the
practice
of
eating
clay
dirt.
You
know
that
scene
with
the
girls
and
Grandma
Betty,
who
was
actually
named
after
my
mother’s
father’s
mother,
so
it’s
a
Grandma
Betty
in
my
life.
It
feels
very
close,
those
relationships
to
me
and
I
wanted
it
to
be
reflected
in
the
work.
Again,
like
her
father
is
passing
down
from
one
generation
to
the
next
the
fishing,
the
teaching
how
to
fish,
how
to
skin
a
fish,
also
eating
clay
dirt,
just
how
our
life
has
these
resonances
and
ripples
of
different
generations
across
families.”

Jackson
masterfully
captures
the
beauty
and
joy
in
some
of
life’s
most
mundane
moments,
but

All
Dirt
Roads…
also
delivers
moments
where
Mack’s
family
deal
with
loss,
most
notably
through
the
death
of
their
mother.
One
of
the
few
lines
in
the
film
comes
from
the
girls’
grandmother,
who
tells
Mack
and
her
sister,
“She’s
going
to
miss
you
girls”
at
the
beginning
of
the
scene
where
they
have
just
buried
their
mother.

“Something
that
runs
through
the
film
is
that
it
doesn’t
end
or
begin
it
just
changes
form,”
Raven
explained.
“Just
because
she’s
not
physically
there
doesn’t
mean
you
know
she
isn’t
there
in
some
way.
For
me
that
line
speaks
to
their
mother
having
not
physically
being
there
but
still
being
there.”

Raven
Jackson
Talks
Casting
‘All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt

Jackson
assembled
an
exceptional
cast
for

All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
Of
Salt,
Chris
Chalk
and
Sheila
Atim
tackle
the
roles
of
Mack
and
Josie’s
parents,
Isaiah
and
Evelyn,
Kaylee
Nicole
Johnson
and
Jaya
Henry
play
the
younger
versions
of
Mack
and
Josie
and
new
actors
Charleen
McClure
and
Jannie
Hampton
are
incredible
as
the
adult
Mack
and
Grandma
Betty.

“As
a
director
I
love
to
work
with
a
mix
of
first-time
actors
and
more
established
actors,”
Jackson
said
of
the
way
the
film
was
cast.
“Charleen
is
someone
I
knew
from
my
life,
she’s
a
poet
as
well
and
we
were
in
the
park
one
day
and
I
just
saw
it.
I
just
saw
the
potential
there.
The
role
calls
for
someone
who
can
believably
play
someone
in
their
late
teens
or
early
30’s
and
she
has
a
face
that
holds
many
years
so
I
knew
that
was
something
that
intrigued
me,
but
also
she
has
a
face
that
says
a
lot
without
needing
to
say
words
which
the
role
called
for.
We
did
you
know
explore
with
casting
but
I
trusted
that
spark
that
came
and
and
we
saw
where
it
led
and
led
to
her
being
cast.”

“When
I
met
Sheila,
again
the
film
doesn’t
have
a
lot
of
dialogue
and
is
someone
who
her
face
is
just
so
expressive
and
her
body
so
expressive,
but
when
we
met
for
that
role
and
the
Grandma
Betty
role,
it
was
important
for
me,
I
really
wanted
to
cast
folks
who
knew
about
clay
dirt
and
I
didn’t
know
she
did
until
we
met.
So
she’s
very
familiar
with
it
and
off
of
our
conversation
I
knew
it
was
her.”

“Chris
Chalk
is
an
amazing
actor
and
also
someone
who
can
convey
so
much,
he’s
so
expressive
without
needing
to
express
words.
Also
speaking
to
a
Reginald
Helms
Jr.,
who
plays
the
older
Wood,
it
was
just
me
you
know
and
Maria
Altamirano,
one
of
producers
on
the
film,
we
were
in
the
production
office
and
people
hadn’t
landed
in
a
substantial
way
for
Wood
yet.
We
were
so
looking
for
him
and
I
think
I
Googled
musical
artists
from
the
South.
I
like
to
say
I
know
what
I’m
looking
for,
but
I’m
open
to
how
I
get
there
and
I
think
that
about
that
a
lot
with
casting.
Of
course
we
go
to
traditional
routes
too.
I
have
an
amazing
casting
director
Candice
Alustiza
who
found
the
children,
but
I
like
to
cast
a
wide
net.
I
put
a
lot
of
hooks
in
the
water
and
I
found
Reggie
through
just
a
simple
Google
search.
I
saw
one
of
his
music
videos
and
I
loved
how
expressive
because
he
was
with
his
body.
He
has
great
eyes,
a
great
face
that
you
just
want
to
watch
and
it
just
so
happens
someone
on
our
production
team
knew
one
of
his
managers
and
we
got
the
conversation
going
and
the
rest
is
history.”

“For
Grandma
Betty
it
was
an
open
casting
call
in
Memphis
and
her
name
is
Miss
Jannie
Lee
Hampton
and
she
was
there
with
her
daughter
and
her
grandchildren,
just
off
to
the
side
sitting
down
with
her
purse.
I
was
like,
‘What’s
your
name,’
because
I
had
already
cast
Charleen,
at
that
point.
There
was
a
resonance
there
but
also
she
had
a
gold
tooth
right
where
my
mom
used
to
have
hers
and
I
asked
her
if
she
knew
about
clay
dirt
and
she
did.
We
had
a
great
conversation
off
of
that.
It
was
just
things
like
that.
Just
being
open
to
the
possibility.
You
never
know
what
can
happen
and
I
find
that
that’s
really
been
a
gift,
just
being
open
to
what
moves
me
and
where
that
can
lead.”

Jackson’s
strong
instincts
have
guided
her
to
make
one
of
the
most
critically
acclaimed
projects
this
year.
We
greatly
enjoyed

All
Dirt
Roads
Taste
of
Salt
and
are
looking
forward
to
watching
Raven
Jackson’s
career
evolve.