Garbage Dreams

Verzio FF Submission Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. It is a world folded onto itself, an impenetrable labyrinth of narrow roadways camo...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Iskander, Mai
Institution:Open Society Archives at Central European University
Language:Arabic
Published: Iskander Films, Inc. 2009
United States
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:96975cc1-b615-4f4e-b7d2-8e292bf08ea5
Description
Summary:Verzio FF Submission Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. It is a world folded onto itself, an impenetrable labyrinth of narrow roadways camouflaged by trash; it is home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Egypt's "garbage people." The Zaballeen survive by recycling the city's waste. For generations, the residents of Cairo have depended on the Zaballeen to collect their trash, paying them only a minimal amount for their garbage collection services. These entrepreneurial garbage workers recycle 80% of all the garbage they collect, creating what is arguably the world's most efficient waste disposal system. When the city they keep clean suddenly decides to replace them with multinational garbage disposal companies, the Zaballeen community finds itself at a crossroads. Face to face with the globalization of their trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of the whole community.
Published:2009