Sustainability Series: WASTE LAND

Watch Trailer Director: Lucy Walker, Karen Harley
Cast: Vik Muniz
Awards: Best Documentary Nominee at 2011 Academy Awards

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores” — or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both dignity and despair as the catadores begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker (Devil’s Playground, Blindsight) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 95 MIN95 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible