Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash. The film is a Semifinalist in the $200,000 FOCUS FORWARD Filmmaker Competition and is in the running to become the $100,000 Grand Prize Winner. It could also be named an Audience Favorite if it’s among the ten that receives the most votes.
Cateura, Paraguay is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. Garbage collectors browse the trash for sellable goods, and children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs. When orchestra director Szaran and music teacher Favio set up a music program for the kids of Cateura, they soon have more students than they have instruments. That changed when Szaran and Favio were brought something they had never seen before: a violin made out of garbage. Today, there’s an entire orchestra of assembled instruments, now called The Recycled Orchestra.
Directed & Produced by: Juliana Penaranda-Loftus
Co-Director & Executive Producer: Alejandra Nash
Executive Producer: Rodolfo Madero
Co-Producer: Jorge Maldonado
Editors: Jorge Maldonado, Jaime Arze, Roberto Duarte
Director of Photography: Tim Fabrizio
Sound: Josue Farina
Consulting Producer: Monica Barrios
Consulting Producer: Helen Hood Scheer
Field Producer: Gisella Duarte
