If you always thought that movies were mostly garbage anyway, now you can say it literally. Edmonton’s second edition of the REEL Waste Film Fest is set to start and it is sure to give viewers new perspectives on our disposable culture.
Garry Spotowski is the education programs co-ordinator with the Waste Management Branch of the City of Edmonton. He is excited about the line-up of films and says you don’t have to be obsessed with environmentalism to enjoy yourself at the shows.
“There’s a really good variety for everybody in terms of tone and subject matter,” he said, adding he’s especially looking forward to some of the documentaries, especially one about the people who make their living in the Manila landfill in Philippines. That film, God’s Children, plays on the last night of the festival.
Personally though, he loves garbage.
“It’s really been my life,” said the former waste collector. “That started my first exposure to the whole thing and the amount that we actually throw away.”
True to his statement, there are also comedies and titles more intended to make you chuckle than fret over global warming. One in particular, called Kenny the Movie, is about the ups and downs of a philosophical Australian portapotty service man. Others explore dirt, how much food we waste while many people starve, people who find their food in other people’s trash, one Vancouver couple’s quest to live for one year without making any trash and artists who explore the dumps in Rio de Janeiro to get their raw materials.
“It’s a really tremendous tale … Waste Land.”
The festival is being held in conjunction with Waste: the Social Context, a tri-annual international waste management conference at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence.
The REEL Waste Film Festival runs tomorrow until Wednesday at the Metro Cinema located in the Citadel Theatre building at 9828- 101A Ave. For more information, call 780-496-5681 or visit www.reelwaste.com.
