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For her first feature-length documentary film, director Mai Iskander spent hundreds of hours in one of Cairo’s largest slums with teenagers who have a lot to teach the world about effective recycling. Her film, “Garbage Dreams: Raised in the Trash Trade,” reveals how for a century an ostracized community in the Muslim world’s largest metropolis has been eking out a living by gathering the city’s waste and how their rudimentary methods yield a much higher recycling rate than the more sophisticated ones implemented in the West. With the film’s debut slated for next month at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, the American-Egyptian filmmaker discusses how she came to make “Garbage Dreams” and what she hopes it will accomplish.

How did you learn about the Zaballeen’s struggle?

I first heard about Zaballeen when I was 12 years old. A family friend had taken me there to attend a wedding in the neighborhood of Mokattam—the largest of Cairo’s garbage villages. Upon my first steps into the neighborhood, it was like entering an extraordinary world, a unique and hidden reality: garbage piled three stories high, honking horns, stray dogs and joyful children running around. The neighborhood has its own logic, rhythm and energy. Also, trash has always intrigued me as the gateway to the discarded secrets of its previous owners.

I had visited the neighborhood a few times afterwards. In 2005, I volunteered to help paint the outside walls of neighborhood’s informal school, the Recycling School. I remember that day how excited the boys were to get the chance to brighten up their environment. Now their school has bright blue walls and colorful murals—a sharp contrast to the monotone informal housing covered with trash that surrounds it.

For fun, I also videotaped the event. The boys enjoyed the attention and were glad that I was filming such a memorable moment for them. The teachers at the school invited me to document the educational field trips that they took to local recycling factory with the hopes that these videos would be used as a fundraising tool for future trips. And that’s how it started.

What inspired you to make this film?

The Zaballeen have created what is arguable the world’s most effective resource recovery system – recycling 80% of what they collect and of course I felt this should be documented. But, it was the boys that drew me in and made make the commitment to make the film. They weren’t just proud of their recycling trade—it became a part of who they were. They were also extremely uninhibited and open—but still teenagers—concerned with their hair and the latest trends. I was also impressed with how the Zaballeen has such a strong sense of community, which as a Westerner I never experienced. Everyone took care of each other and accepted one another wholeheartedly.

What was the most challenging aspect to making the film?

The most challenging part of the filming was getting people used to the camera and the idea of making a documentary. People in the neighborhood are apprehensive of cameras, since when they get any media attention they are usually portrayed as being victims, living in dirty conditions and a marginalized existence. Also, the neighborhood is very chaotic. Everyone’s daily life is unpredictable, and it was hard to navigate through it sometimes. It was also hard to find time to film with the boys; they are either at work or at school—so setting up time for them to run interviews was very difficult.

How did your background in film influence how you decided to make this film?

I had been working as a cinematographer when I started making this film. Beside the obvious technical aspects, I think my background in camera work helped me have the patience to sit back and observe what was going on. I shot over 250 hours of footage and I still need to raise additional funding to cover the film’s costs. One of my favorite moments was teaching the boys how to use the camera. I gave them a small camera to shoot themselves in their daily lives. They did an amazing job—about five minutes of the film is their footage!

What do you hope it can accomplish?

I hope that the film brings new awareness to the issue of trash/recycling but in a new way, not just as a pressing environmental issue, but as a global phenomenon and a way of survival for much of the planet’s poor.

What were the personal lessons?

I never thought I could feel such a strong connection and admiration for people living in a completely different environment than me. At first I felt that I was very different from them but they were so accepting I was almost embarrassed that I ever felt that way. People are essentially the same. Everyone has dreams, wants a family, wants to be accepted and appreciated. I hope to offer audience members an intimate portrayal of all the film’s characters. I hope the audience can feel the same connection that I felt for each of the boys.

Do you think there is a chance that the Egyptians will ever come to value the Zaballeen or is it too late?

It is not so much that the Egyptians need to value the Zaballeen as much as the world needs to value them. Trash is a global issue—it gets imported and exported all over the world. I hope that people around the world will come to see the Zaballeen as leaders in the environmental movement.

Are there lessons for the West to learn?

I hope the West realizes that sometimes the poor indigenous communities of non-Western countries have the answers to some of the world’s most pressing problems and will start to look to them for answers.

What do you think is the most controversial aspect of the film?

One of the things most people react to in the film is the poverty and the harsh dirty living environments of the Zaballeen. One has to remember that there are many poor people in Egypt and the rest of world for that matter—poverty is an issue and unfortunately might always be. The Zaballeen have been very innovative to find a way to make a living. Their example shows a relationship between sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Originally farm laborers, they moved to Cairo 50 years ago and lived in tin shacks with their livestock. They have single handedly improved their living conditions for themselves and their families, helped preserve our environment and have created the world’s most efficient waste disposal system. They had so little and they created so much.

How will Garbage Dreams be seen?

The film will have an initial festival run, then will be picked up internationally and locally for television. I also hope to work with the public school system as well as other institutions to have the film be used as an educational tool. It will debut at the SXSW Festival in Austin in March.

Read about Garbage Dreams.