The shooting (cinematography Nicolas C. Geissler, sound design Sascha Blank, assistance Katharina Schwöbel) took place in 2013 on individual shooting days over a period of two months in the Palatinate village of Steinfeld in Alsace. The German Schwöbel couple, who lived there, were already in their mid-90s at the time of filming and lived in a farmhouse with several workshops on a hillside. The Schwöbels had been making baskets there since the 1960s and 1970s. They were the grandparents of my ex-partner Katharina, who was initially against this film. After the Schwöbels died, this work became a contemporary document of the post-war period and a personal memento for those left behind.

‘Salix’ refers to the Latin word for (wicker) willow.