Waste LandWaste Land
(2010)
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Waste Land

An artist creates portraits of landfill workers and learns about their lives.

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Why watch this film?

Well-known after being responsible for the opening arts of the novel 'Avenida Brasil', Brazilian artist Vik Muniz is one of the most celebrated names in plastic arts around the world. Inventive and with a sharp eye for works of colossal size, the carioca makes use of garbage and debris to play with meanings. For example, landfill workers take the form of 'The Death of Marat'. They are recreations, reinventions. And all of Vik Muniz's journey is portrayed in the excellent documentary 'Waste Land', a co-production between Brazil and the United Kingdom that was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary. The great success of Lucy Walker, the main director of the film, is that she does not restrict herself only to Vik's creative process - which, it is worth saying, is very interesting. She goes beyond and shows how art can transform lives.

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Plot summary

On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.

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