Garbage Warrior

Colour, 35 mm
United Kingdom, 2007, 86 min
EP – European premiere
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

Synopsis

Without exaggeration or insult, one could call American Michael Reynolds the world’s most distinguished architect of garbage. For over three decades, he has been successfully building very cheap houses which have their own source of energy, water and heat. For their construction he uses old tyres, beer cans and glass bottles. This surprisingly efficient alternative form of housing created by the professional architect and promoter of sustainable development from New Mexico nevertheless, or perhaps as a result, continually comes up against all sorts of US bureaucracy. Director Oliver Hodge spent three whole years documenting the work of Michael Reynolds and his battle with American officials. Hodge sets out with him and his gang of similarly inclined colleagues to the Andaman islands, which bore the full brunt of the tsunami, where their inexpensive and efficient little houses have become extremely popular. From a total of 350 hours of footage, the filmmakers finally came up with a truly dynamic and fascinating portrait of an exceptional man and his dream come true.

About the director

Oliver Hodge studied industrial design at the prestigious Central St Martins School of Art in London, and then took a course in film design. He has been involved in the creation of two dozen feature films (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tomb Raider, Sleepy Hollow, The Fifth Element etc.) During the course of his career, he has worked with such names as directors George Lucas, Tim Burton, Danny Boyle, Danny Cannon and Simon West.