A Celebration of Pan American Culture Through Film: Inspiring documentaries that bring the diverse stories, vibrant cultures and remarkable contributions of Pan American peoples to the screen.
Winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance 2010, Waste Land is an inspirational story following renowned Brazilian artist Vik Muniz’s latest and most elaborate project. Muniz, originally from a poor family in São Paulo, primarily uses garbage and food waste to create his socially conscious pieces. We follow Muniz to Jardim Gramacho, one of the largest garbage dumps in the world, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Here he will create his latest installation with the help of several remarkable catadores, or pluckers, who make their living by sourcing recyclable materials from the garbage. Tiao, a dreamer who founded a catadores cooperative, and 18-year-old Suelen, a pregnant mother of two, are but two pluckers who become both Muniz’s collaborators and subjects. The work changes not only their view of themselves, but also their view of the world. Waste Land is a testament to the empowering effects of the creative process. Shannon Abel, Hot Docs
In English and Portuguese, with English subtitles.
Through this series, Hot Docs is participating as a Cultural Collaboration with PANAMANIA presented by CIBC, the arts and cultural festival of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.