Waste Land Directed by Lucy Walker, 2010

What happens in the world’s largest trash city will transform you.

Nominated for a 2011 Oscar^® for Best Documentary Feature. 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 the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker (Devil’s Playground, Blindsight, Countdown to Zero) 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.

Bonus Features

Extended bonus footage:

Awards:

WINNER Audience Award for Best World Cinema Documentary, Sundance Film Festival 2010
WINNER Amnesty International Film Award, Berlin International Film Festival 2010
WINNER Audience Award, Best Documentary, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010

WINNER Target Documentary Filmmaker Award, Dallas Film Festival 2010

WINNER Golden Space Needle Award, Seattle International Film Festival 2010

WINNER, Amnesty International Film Award, Berlin Film Festival 2010