My best beau, Richard, and I were excited to see some of the indie films being introduced at the brand new location of Cinematique in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was a chilly (okay so it wasn't that chilly but for Florida it was chilly) Sunday afternoon so we ducked inside the new-since-October-2010 theater and settled in to watch Waste Land.
WOW! Both Richard & I were amazed and deeply moved by what director Lucy Walker's documentary featuring Brooklyn-based artist Vik Muniz conveyed to the audience through their winning collaboration.
In Waste Land, Muniz spends over two years in the land of garbage pickers ("catadores') in his native Brazil at the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, just outside of Rio de Janeiro.
Hundreds of pickers work well into each night collecting recyclable materials from the heaps of rancid wet trash that arrives truckload after truckload. Muniz surveys the catadores as they work and chooses a handful that would become the focus of his photographs. But rather than just photograph them, he enlists them to recreate the photographic images of themselves out of garbage.
As this process unfolds the dignity, despair and aspirations of the catadores are soon revealed. This brief chance at reflection transforms lives before your very eyes.
I hope you get a chance to experience Waste Land! It premiered at Sundance and continues to win awards.
