Garbage Dreams

Director: Mai Iskander
Theatrical Release Date: January 6, 2010
On The Web Film Website IMDB Entry

Synopsis: "Garbage Dreams" follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen--Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community. [Synopsis courtesy of film's official website]

Round-up: The Village Voice's Andrew Schenker calls the film a "handsomely shot and intermittently fascinating look at Cairo's Zaballeen community of trash collectors." "Using ... microcosmic examples to demonstrate universal issues of globalization, modernization, and coming of age, Iskander braves the smell to provide us with a transportive cultural exchange," observes Mimi Luse in The L Magazine. More from the New York Times, Slant Magazine, Pop Matters, and Trust Movies.