{"id":39066,"date":"2017-10-03T14:15:23","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T17:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=39066"},"modified":"2017-10-06T11:08:59","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T14:08:59","slug":"santa-teresa-cinema-hosts-debate-on-trash-and-screens-favela-as-a-sustainable-model-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=39066","title":{"rendered":"Santa Teresa Cinema Hosts Debate on Trash and Screens ‘Favela as a Sustainable Model’ Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On September 28 in Santa Teresa’s Cine Santa movie theater, the short film\u00a0Favela as a Sustainable Model<\/a><\/em> by Catalytic Communities<\/a>* (CatComm) was screened as part of the Santa Na Mesa festival celebrating sustainable development and sustainable living. The film screening<\/a> was hosted by Mairar\u00ea Produtora and the Association of Friends and Entrepreneurs of Santa Teresa. After the movie,\u00a0Cris dos Prazeres, from the environmental initiative ReciclA\u00e7\u00e3o<\/a> in the\u00a0Prazeres<\/a>\u00a0favela, and Fernanda Cubianco, representing Movimento Lixo Zero<\/a> (Zero Waste Movement), participated in a short debate on addressing environmental<\/a>\u00a0challenges in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

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After the projection of the movie, CatComm’s Institutional Director and one of the film’s producers, Roseli Franco, explained the idea behind its production. The purpose, she said, was to take advantage of the Rio+20 UN environmental conference taking place in Rio in 2012 to give visibility to some of the challenges facing favelas that non-residents might be unaware of, while also documenting the innate sustainability<\/a> of these communities and their\u00a0local solutions<\/a>: \u201cWe wanted to make a movie about the problems arising from government negligence<\/a> and about the people who are already creating solutions to these problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Franco explained that the NGO put out a call for community projects to participate in the documentary and many responded, including the socio-environmental NGO Verdejar<\/a>, from Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, and Favela Org\u00e2nica<\/a>, a Babil\u00f4nia<\/a> and Ch\u00e1peu Mangueira<\/a>-based project that uses food scraps in delicious cooking. The projects that applied addressed issues like sewage<\/a> and\u00a0waste<\/a>, and the need for environmental education<\/a>. The CatComm team selected projects from different areas of the city to show the wide range of favelas with active initiatives and to recognize their value.<\/p>\n

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Next, the microphone was passed to Fernanda Cubiaco from Movimento Lixo Zero who addressed how important it is to show and give visibility to these examples of activism and resilience. Her own activism around the problem of trash in the city started when she observed a lack of care for the city’s public spaces that were often filled with garbage.\u00a0Cubiaco explained the objective of the zero waste<\/a> project is to push people to rethink the way they look at garbage and to connect with the waste they produce in order to be more aware of its impact. She outlined how the movement is currently trying to find\u00a0ways to reduce trash in the environment by working with sixty restaurants and several schools and hotels to help them reduce their waste production. The movement is also currently working to create zero waste neighborhoods, and the objective is to keep expanding to involve more businesses and be an example to other municipalities.<\/p>\n

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\nFollowing Cubiaco, Cris dos Prazeres also spoke to the value of this documentary giving visibility to a part of society and of the city that is left behind by government. She introduced herself as part of the Prevention Realized Through Organization and Love<\/a> (Preven\u00e7\u00e3o Realizada com Organiza\u00e7\u00e3o e Amor\u2014PROA) group from Prazeres. The group works to address various sanitation problems that have emerged from government neglect over many decades. In Prazeres, Cris explained, they have a history of community resilience. She recalled how in 2010, after a freak avalanche of accumulated trash killed more than 30 people<\/a>, they decided to take action on the big problem of trash in favelas. Cris said: \u201cWe started to sensitize ourselves to see the environment differently.” From there, the group started connecting with different communities and doing research, and the ReciclA\u00e7\u00e3o (RecycleAction) project was born.<\/p>\n

ReciclA\u00e7\u00e3o’s goal is to \u201cget away from the focus on comfort and consumerism… and start thinking about trash.\u201d Cris stressed the total lack of adequate trash collection<\/a>\u00a0in most favelas. Today ReciclA\u00e7\u00e3o is trying to change that, she says: there are now 40 eco-bags around Prazeres, various areas for composting, and different types of waste collection. The project’s team organizes discussions in schools and churches to educate and raise residents’ awareness<\/a> about taking care of the environment. At Thursday’s discussion, Cris emphasized that ReciclA\u00e7\u00e3o is challenging the misconception<\/a> that it is not possible to develop effective recycling and trash collection in favelas.<\/p>\n

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As for the audience, a group of young schoolmates from Prazeres joined the discussion with a ten-year-old saying he knows his trash is collected and reused in Prazeres. Other audience members acknowledged the importance of talking about consumption: people have to become conscious of the constant pressure to consume and start to reassess and reduce their needs. Another audience member argued we have to stop seeing the problem of trash and consumption as external, and realize the problem and the solution both start with each of us.<\/p>\n

*Catalytic Communities is the favela advocacy organization responsible for RioOnWatch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The full 26-minute documentary is available with English subtitles on YouTube<\/a>:<\/h3>\n