Waste Land

Co-presented with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Thursday, January 27, 8:00PM
Location: Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Brown Auditorium, 1001 Bissonnet Street

$7 general public, $6 MFAH and Aurora members, seniors, students at the box office.
Regular admission tickets available in advance at www.mfah.org.

Directed by Lucy Walker (pictured to the right) and filmed over nearly three years, Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" – or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker (Countdown to Zero) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit. 

Special thanks to Houston Cinema Arts Society and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Teen Council for their support of this program.

Additional screening times: 

Saturday, January 22 & 29, 1:00PM, Sunday, January 30, 1:00PM, Sunday, February 6, 5:00PM