The notion that so much contemporary art is actually rubbish is given a literal airing in this extraordinary and expansive documentary featuring the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz.
Muniz is renowned for creating from discarded materials, and here, British filmmaker Lucy Walker (Devil’s Playground, Countdown to Zero) follows the artist through a grand project, collaborating with some of the Rio slum dwellers who eke out a living by scavenging for food and other re-useable items on the Jardim Gramancho, the world’s largest rubbish dump.
Waste Land skilfully brings together the back-stories of each of these impoverished characters, with Muniz’s singular artistic vision to present us with an inspiring account of lives on the margins of the global economy, and the transformative power of art.
Winner of the Audience Award at Sundance and Berlin Film Festival.
