Waste Land (film)

Waste Land

A poster with the film title showing a portrait of a man reclining in a bathtub inspired by Jacques-Louis David's 1793 painting Death of Marat, composed entirely of recyclable material

Promotional film poster
Directed by

Lucy Walker.

Co-directed by João Jardim and Karen Harley
Produced by

Angus Aynsley and Hank Levine. Co-produced by Peter Martin.

Executive Produced by Fernando Meirelles.
Starring Vik Muniz
Music by Moby
Edited by Pedro Kos
Distributed by Entertainment One (Canada)
Arthouse Films (USA)
Release dates
  • January 24, 2010 (Sundance)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country UK, Brazil
Language Portuguese, English

Waste Land is a feature documentary film that premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, as well as win over 50 other film awards including the International Documentary Association's Best Documentary Award, which was handed to director Lucy Walker inside a garbage bag.[1][2]

Waste Land is the uplifting story of artist Vik Muniz who travels to the world's largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho outside Rio de Janeiro, to collaborate with a lively group of catadores, or pickers of recyclable materials, who find a way to the most prestigious auction house in London via the surprising transformation of refuse into contemporary art. The catadores work in a co-operative founded and led by Sebastião Carlos Dos Santos, the ACAMJG, or Association of Pickers of Jardim Gramacho, who dreamed of improving life for his community. The money created by the selling of the artworks was given back to the catadores and the ACAMJG, as well as the prize money from the film awards, in order to help the catadores and their community.

The documentary was released theatrically in the USA by Arthouse Films, in Canada and in the UK by E1 Entertainment, and in Australia and New Zealand by Hopscotch Films and was directed by Lucy Walker, produced by Angus Aynsley and Hank Levine, executive produced by Fernando Meirelles, co-directed by João Jardim and Karen Harley, co-produced by Peter Martin, and photographed by Dudu Miranda. The music is exclusively by Moby, a friend and frequent collaborator of the director.[3]

Reception

Waste Land received unanimously positive reviews as "an uplifting portrait of the power of art and the dignity of the human spirit."[4]

On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator site, 100% of critics gave the film positive ("certified fresh") reviews, based on 68 reviews, earning the film a Golden Tomato Award for the best-reviewed film of the year, and the only documentary to be 100% positively rated for that year.[5]

This film has been invited to screen at festivals and special events around the world, has won over 50 awards, such as on October 11, 2010, REACT to FILM screened Waste Land at the SoHo House in Manhattan, NY and moderated a Q&A with Waste Land director Lucy Walker and MOBY.[6]

Awards

International Titles

The Portuguese-language title is Lixo Extraordinário literally meaning "extraordinary garbage", which is a pun referring to the labels on Brazilian sanitation trucks containing special waste.[7] The Spanish-language title is El Reino de la Basura, literally "the kingdom of garbage".[8] The French distributors Eurozoom chose to keep the English title "Waste Land" in France with the subtitle "de la Poubelle au Musée" (From the Trash to the Museum).[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Nigel M. (5 December 2010). "Honor Roll 2010 - “Waste Land” Director Lucy Walker". IndieWire.com
  2. ↑ McNary, Dave (3 December 2010) "IDA honors 'Waste Land'". Variety.
  3. ↑ Jacques, Adam (8 May 2011) "How We Met: Moby & Lucy Walker" "The Independent"
  4. ↑ "Waste Land – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  5. ↑ "2010 Golden Tomato Awards". Rotten Tomatoes. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  6. ↑ Cook, Cindi. "‘Waste Land’ shows at Soho House". LadyLux. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Programado por Ivan Silva Lemos. "Lixo Extraordinário | Home". Lixoextraordinario.net. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  8. ↑ "AMBULANTE 2011 | Documental | REINO DE BASURA". 2011.ambulante.com.mx. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  9. ↑ "Waste Land • Un Film De Lucy Walker, Co-Realisateurs João Jardim Et Karen Harley - Accueil". Eurozoom.fr. Retrieved 2013-08-02.

External links