Wasteland is a documentary that follows the journey of Vik Muniz who engages in a project to create artwork with the help of catadores (pickers) of recycle materials. To do this he travels to Jardim Gramacho outside Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in an attempt to give back with thanks for his good fortune. Nominated for Best Documentary Award in the 83 Annual Academy Awards and won over 50 other movie awards.

Mind Stars – Vik Muniz

What we like

• Vik Muniz chose certain catadores that he felt would commit to the project and which would then lead to change their mindset about their lives. We very intimately grow to understand the circumstances of each of the people, their lives and the movie gives respect to their choice for getting them into recycling but never the less attempts to help see beyond this

Mind experience

• Circumstances can lead us to do many things we would not have previously contemplated or even have imagined. And yet some of these circumstances leave us with the feeling that we cannot change, cannot move forward, and then we accept what we have. We do have a choice to accept, to change or to leave. And yet sometimes the circumstances makes us feel disconnected from these choices. We don’t really accept for we don’t like what we do and dream of something else. We want to change but we don’t move, we feel we don’t have the power to change. We want to leave but we are uncertain of our future. So we remain paralysed. Take courage, make a decision and move with it whole-heartedly and then you will see the real change

To think about

• Valter: People sometimes say “But one single can?” One single can is of great importance. Because 99 is not 100, and that single one will make the difference.
  
• Vik Muniz:  These days I’m starting to see things in a simpler way; I don’t have as much material ambition as I used to. When I was poor I only wanted material things: I just wanted to have things. I had to buy a lot of crap to get rid of that complex.

Link to Waste Land official site
Map the mind movie location
Map the photograph location