Film
Waste Land
Vik Muniz, a renowned artist, travels to Rio's largest landfill and collaborates with waste pickers to create monumental art from garbage. It's visually stunning and emotionally direct—a film about dignity, transformation, and the radical notion that everyone deserves to be seen. For anyone moved by human resilience or curious about how art actually changes lives.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you care about how an artist's process can change the people he works with, and you don't mind watching portraiture built out of trash slowly take shape.
Skip it if you want a tight, plot-driven film or a sharp critical look at the landfill economy; this one stays warm and admiring and rarely asks hard questions.
What it asks of you: Ninety minutes at a measured pace, shifting between studio sessions and the dump itself; it wants patience more than quick payoffs.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Exit Through the Gift Shop2010
Banksy's documentary about street art, graffiti, and the commercialization of the underground. Like Waste Land, it asks probing questions about what art is for and who gets to decide its value.
But It's deliberately slippery about what's real and what's staged, which some find more clever than genuine.
The True Cost2015
Documentary about the human cost of fast fashion, filmed across garment factories and landfills worldwide. Same DNA as Waste Land: showing invisible labor and asking us to see the people behind our discards.
But Heavy subject matter delivered without much levity. Leaves you wanting to burn your wardrobe, which is hard.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011
David Gelb's meditation on mastery, obsession, and finding transcendence in craft. A man making sushi mirrors Muniz making art from garbage—both about transformation through devotion.
But Proceeds at glacial pace. If you want plot, this isn't it.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Waste Land
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Rivers and Tides2001
Both are about artists who work with what society discards or considers worthless, transforming material into meaning through vision and labor.
A documentary film following artist Andy Goldsworthy as he makes ephemeral sculptures from nature—leaves, ice, stone. All his work dissolves or breaks; it's about process and presence, not possession or markets.
But Very slow, meditative to the point of hypnosis. Not for anyone who equates art with lasting objects or commercial success.
More like this (7)
The Act of Killing2012
Controversial, innovative documentary asking perpetrators of genocide to reenact their crimes. Shares Waste Land's belief that cinema can excavate human truth from the darkest material imaginable.
But Profoundly disturbing. Not a feel-good evening; it's artistically daring in ways that can feel exploitative.
Searching for Sugar Man2012
A mystery about a forgotten American musician discovered decades later in South Africa. Celebrates hidden brilliance and the redemptive power of being finally seen and heard.
But Feels engineered for emotional payoff. Some find it manipulative in how perfectly it lands its beats.
Bully2011
Lee Hirsch's raw documentary about school violence and the kids targeted by it. Like Waste Land, it refuses to look away from suffering and insists on the humanity of the marginalized.
But Deeply painful to watch. Focuses on real children in real agony without neat resolution.
Blackfish2013
Gabriela Cowperthwaite's investigation of orcas in captivity and SeaWorld's practices. Methodical, visually striking, and concerned with what we owe the voiceless—thematically close to Waste Land's core.
But Became a cultural football. If you're skeptical of activism masquerading as journalism, you'll spot the machinery.
My Octopus Teacher2020
A filmmaker spends a year filming an octopus in a South African kelp forest. Meditative, gorgeous, and profoundly about connection and seeing another being fully—mirror to Muniz's method.
But Veers toward the precious and self-help-ish. Some find it Instagram nature rather than serious inquiry.
Koyaanisqatsi1983
Godfrey Reggio's audiovisual poem about industrial civilization without dialogue. Like Waste Land, it trusts images to convey moral weight and asks us to really look at what we've built.
But Absolutely demands patience and surrender. If you need narrative, you'll be frustrated. Can feel like a long music video.
The Gleaners and I2000
Both celebrate the catadores of the world—people who find value in waste—and honor their philosophy without condescension.
Agnès Varda's film essay about people who collect leftover crops, discarded objects, and forgotten things. Warm, witty, genuinely about dignity in scrounging—how the unwanted become beautiful.
But It's essayistic and digressive, shot on miniDV with Varda herself in frame. If you want structure, you won't find it; if you want companionship, you will.
People
Cast
Vik MunizHimself
Directing
- João JardimCo-Director
- Karen HarleyCo-Director
- Lucy WalkerDirector
Writing
- Lucy WalkerScreenplay
Production
- Peter MartinCo-Producer
- Andrea Barata RibeiroExecutive Producer
- Fernando MeirellesExecutive Producer
- Angus AynsleyProducer
- Hank LevineProducer
- Mahyad TousiUnit Production Manager
Recommended by
Plastic Fantastic, This Changes Everything, The Burning Field, One Lucky Elephant