Lucy Walker’s Oscar nominated documentary Waste Land (screens Thursday 22nd March, 8.30pm) describes itself as “an uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit”. It’s the sort of sentiment often expressed, but in the case of this documentary it is well and truly met.
Lucy Walker’s Oscar nominated documentary Waste Land (screens Thursday 22nd March, 8.30pm) describes itself as “an uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit”. It’s the sort of sentiment often expressed, but in the case of this documentary it is well and truly met.
Not everyone would find shooting a documentary in a garbage dump an attractive idea. Vik Muniz though has used plenty of unusual materials in his art work, including junk, street sweepings and dust. The idea of creating art work within the world’s largest land fill, Jardim Gramacho located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, was a fitting continuation of his work.
Waste Land’s director Lucy Walker (Devil’s Playground, Blindsight) also has a fascination with rubbish, which began when she was a graduate film student at NYU. She became interested in the work of Robin Nagle, a professor who lectured on garbage, and began thinking about the sociology implications of garbage. A class field trip to New York’s Staten Island landfill, Fresh Kills, had a major impact on Walker.
“I love great locations in movies, and I couldn't believe I'd never seen a landfill on-screen before. It was the most haunting place. And all of the garbage I'd ever generated living in New York City was in there somewhere. This was the graveyard of all my stuff. Along with everyone elses. I immediately knew that I wanted to make a movie in a garbage dump”.
Walker got her chance when she met Vik, and together they devised a plan to go to Jardim Gramacho where Muniz would create portraits of the catadores", the self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. It was a tough assignment; there’s the smell and dirt, kidnapping insurance had to be taken out on the crew, and heasues like dengue fever to worry about. Oh, and the occasional grizzly discovery.
The plan was to photograph the catadores who would then help fill-in parts of the enlarged photos with rubbish; once the image was complete Muniz would photograph the final product from the ceiling. One photo went to London to be successfully auctioned, and all appeared in Muniz’s exhibition at the Modern Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro - the catadores were treated like stars, and hundreds of thousands of dollars was raised for the catadores’ collective.
Muniz and Walker decided to head to Jardim Gramacho in large part because they believed they could help people. Brazilian born Muniz, who is now based in New York, runs social projects with street kids in Sao Paolo and Rio, and was keen to see if he could make a difference to the lives of the catadores.
What I most liked about this documentary was the honest discussion between those involved (including Muniz’s wife) as to whether what they were doing was really helpful to the catadores in the long term.
As Walker explains in her Director’s Statement;
“In Waste Land Vik and his wife start to argue on-camera about whether the project is hurting the catadores by taking them out of their environment and then, when it’s over, expecting them to return. Likewise, should documentary filmmakers interfere with their subjects’ lives? But how could they not? I don't believe in objectivity. I observe the observer's paradox every moment I'm filming. Your presence is changing everything; there’s no mistaking it. And you have a responsibility”.
It’s an interesting discussion and refreshing to see it acknowledged on screen. For me the most uplifting and joyful aspect of this documentary is the effect working with Muniz has on the catadores. No matter how much or how little Muniz and Walker’s presence has altered their lives, the experience has certainly enriched them and does indeed showcase transformative power of art.