11 Free Garbage Dreams Screening Events This Week

Nabil, 18 years old, one of the teenage boys featured in Garbage Dreams

Our January Community Cinema selection, Garbage Dreams, asks you to think very deeply about garbage (and recycling it). Cairo, Egypt’s Zabaleen are mostly Coptic Christians who provide garbage collection cheaply or for free, making a living by sorting through the trash they collect, and selling the metal, plastic, paper, glass, and other materials to recyclers. Some items are set aside for repair and reuse; food waste is given to the pigs and goats.

The Zaballeen live on the outskirts of Cairo, in Mokattam, the main setting for Garbage Dreams. The garbage is collected by the men, and brought here where it is piled into large open rooms or sheds and sorted by the women and children. Families tend to specialize in sorting certain types of materials, such as glass or paper, and particular families take charge of preparing that material for recycling. It is estimated that the Zaballeen recycle about 80 percent of the solid waste they collect.

Don’t miss your chance to see Garbage Dreams this week at a free community screening event near you!

Grand Junction, Colorado
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM
Mesa County Libraries, Central Library
530 Grand Ave.

Hayward, California
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM
Hayward Public Library Main Library
835 C Street
Hayward, CA 94541

Tucson, Arizona
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 6:00 PM
Joel D. Valdez Main Library
101 N. Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701

See Garbage Dreams this week!

Miami, Florida
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Florida International University – Maidique Campus
11200 SW 8th St. - Graham Center (GC) 140
Miami, FL. 33199

Tucson, Arizona
Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Quincie Douglas Branch Library
1585 E. 36th St.
Tucson, AZ 85713

St. Louis, Missouri
Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Missouri History Museum
5700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO

Tucson, Arizona
Friday, January 15, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Miller-Golf Links Branch Library
9640 E. Golf Links Rd.
Tucson AZ 85730

Ithaca, New York
Friday, January 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Henry St. John Building – Suite 103
301 S. Geneva St.
(corner of Clinton & Geneva Streets)

Chicago, Illinois
Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.

Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Boston Public Library- Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston St., Copley Sq.

Washington, D.C.
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Washington DC Jewish Community Center
1529 16th Street, NW (at Q)

Find all upcoming events listed here. The list is update frequently, so be sure to bookmark it.

Tags: cairo, free, garbage dreams, recycling