Synopsis
This will be a story of a dumpsite – a singularly human kind of formation and a biotope in its own right. In choosing this seemingly unglamorous subject matter we are guided neither by social pathos, nor by “green” missionary zeal. Throughout the implementation of this project we will remain neutral observers, mere visitors from the City, the source of all waste.
The dumpsite is viewed by many as some sort of a man-made abscess on the face of Nature. However, the fact that birds, mammals, insects, people and plants have chosen this site as their habitat gives to it some strange kind of legitimacy. If for a human being life in a dumpsite is a heavy fall down the gutter, it’s quite the opposite for non-human species. For them, a dumpsite is an elitist residential area, a Dreamland, with food and warmth secured all year round. True, it has one serious disadvantage – the water found on the dumpsite is not usable for drinking. Every resident of the dumpsite has to find ways of solving this problem. Thirst will form the dramaturgical focal points of the film.
We will be able to present the exact cast for the film after a careful selection of the main actors is made. Nevertheless, candidates with the best chances to be selected include the rat, the eagle owl, the man, the beetle and the pumpkin. They would make a perfect ensemble, all of them being intertwined in an existential “life-death” relationship.
Approximately a hundred species of birds (one third of the total of Latvia’s bird species) that have been observed on this site could take part in the mass scenes. In winter and fall 7 to 9 thousand seagulls make their presence seen and heard in a most overwhelming way. Pigeons, sparrows and jackdaws will form another body of extras. The Northern goshawk will make a short but dramatic cameo appearance trying to hunt down a seagull. There is also a great selection of mammal candidates to choose from – mice, hedgehogs, foxes, beavers, racoons, martens, roes, not speaking of cats and dogs. In the twilight hours we will hunt together with the long-eared bats, but in midday, when the sun is highest, we will try to monitor the daily chores of some rare beetle.
The cricket, settled comfortably inside the heap of waste, makes his song heard all year round. It’s permanent summer in there, like at the foot of a volcano. The analogy of a volcano is valid also because the biogas, formed by the decomposition process, may eventually make the heap explode.
We have only two years left for making this film. Due to Latvia’s planned adhesion to the European Union, the last dumpsite in Riga will disappear in 2004.
The dumpsite is viewed by many as some sort of a man-made abscess on the face of Nature. However, the fact that birds, mammals, insects, people and plants have chosen this site as their habitat gives to it some strange kind of legitimacy. If for a human being life in a dumpsite is a heavy fall down the gutter, it’s quite the opposite for non-human species. For them, a dumpsite is an elitist residential area, a Dreamland, with food and warmth secured all year round. True, it has one serious disadvantage – the water found on the dumpsite is not usable for drinking. Every resident of the dumpsite has to find ways of solving this problem. Thirst will form the dramaturgical focal points of the film.
We will be able to present the exact cast for the film after a careful selection of the main actors is made. Nevertheless, candidates with the best chances to be selected include the rat, the eagle owl, the man, the beetle and the pumpkin. They would make a perfect ensemble, all of them being intertwined in an existential “life-death” relationship.
Approximately a hundred species of birds (one third of the total of Latvia’s bird species) that have been observed on this site could take part in the mass scenes. In winter and fall 7 to 9 thousand seagulls make their presence seen and heard in a most overwhelming way. Pigeons, sparrows and jackdaws will form another body of extras. The Northern goshawk will make a short but dramatic cameo appearance trying to hunt down a seagull. There is also a great selection of mammal candidates to choose from – mice, hedgehogs, foxes, beavers, racoons, martens, roes, not speaking of cats and dogs. In the twilight hours we will hunt together with the long-eared bats, but in midday, when the sun is highest, we will try to monitor the daily chores of some rare beetle.
The cricket, settled comfortably inside the heap of waste, makes his song heard all year round. It’s permanent summer in there, like at the foot of a volcano. The analogy of a volcano is valid also because the biogas, formed by the decomposition process, may eventually make the heap explode.
We have only two years left for making this film. Due to Latvia’s planned adhesion to the European Union, the last dumpsite in Riga will disappear in 2004.
Gallery
