The first part of Wasteland is called The mountain and shows the Borinage, in the Walloon part of Belgium. Today, the former mining district is troubled by massive unemployment and poverty. The mines are deserted, the shafts are closed. A man, whose father used to work in the mines, dreams of converting an old mine into a children's farm. Meanwhile, a small, immigrant Ukrainian mining community is quietly passing their days here. In the second part The pit, we see how in Hambach, Germany, coal is still extracted. But this excavated brown coal mine also looks like wasteland: all by himself, an engine driver with a poetic streak operates an awe-inspiring excavator in an otherwise almost desolate landscape. Directors Jan Ketelaars and Paul van den Wildenburg use an observing style and matching tempo to juxtapose the two worlds.
Credits
Producer
Camera
Set geluid
Mixage
Muziek
Production company
Stichting Geelprodukt
TV company
VPRO TV
NFF Archive
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