Hot Docs is North America’s largest documentary film festival, featuring over 170 documentaries from Canada and around the world, to be viewed at venues around Toronto.

Waste Land, directed by acclaimed British director Lucy Walker (Blindsight, Devil’s Playground), premiered at the Isabel Bader Theatre on Day 3 of the festival.

The documentary is an uplifting story about the transformative power of art and the beauty that can be found in even the most worthless garbage.

The story begins as top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz decides to return to his home country of Brazil to create art out of materials picked from the largest garbage dump in the world, the Jardim Gramacho. Muniz collaborates with the ‘catadores’-pickers of recyclable materials, as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage. Think compelling human-interest dimension to the works of art that are created, as we see the art reveal the dignity within the catadores and magic that challenges them to re-imagine their lives.

Documenting first hand the transformative ability of art. From worthless garbage into valuable and treasured, and its ability to inspire even the most under-classed catadores to find the beauty and pride in themselves.

This year the Hot Docs (@hotdocs or http://www.hotdocs.ca for more info).

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