Garbage Dreams See The Movie

GARBAGE DREAMS

Director and Producer:   Mai Iskander

Winner of the IDA’s Humanitas Award, GARBAGE DREAMS follows three teenage boys – Adham, a bright precocious 17-year-old; Osama, a charming impish 16-year-old; Nabil, a shy artistic 18-year-old – all born into the trash trade, among Egypt’s Christian, Zaballeen minority.  The “garbage people” as they are called, live in a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. It is a world folded onto itself, an impenetrable labyrinth of narrow roadways camouflaged by trash.

The Zaballeen survive by recycling the city’s waste.  Astonishingly, they repurpose 80% of the garbage, creating what is arguably the world’s most efficient waste disposal system.   When Cairo’s city government suddenly decides to replace them with multinational garbage disposal companies, the community finds itself at a crossroads and face to face with the globalization of their trade.

Academy Short List for Best Documentary

http://garbagedreams.com/