Nha San Collective - Screening: Manufactured Landscapes by Jennifer Baichwal

​This June, Nha San Collective together with Doclab, would like to introduce to you a documentary film “Manufactured Landscape” by Jennifer Baichwal and Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky - who uses large format field camera (super - 16mm film) to capture ecological disasters causes by man. 

Footages from Manufactured Landscape was mainly shot in China, where the economy is rising strongly and rapidly accompanied by the demand for energy, exploiting, deforestation and waste.

Three Gorges Dam - the largest dam and artificial lake ever created by man. To create this construction, they has uprooted more than one million people and flooded 13 cities. An amount of compensation was given to the people for the deconstruction of their own place where they were living

Shanghai - the world’s fastest growing city where the skyscrapers are springing up to replace the old neighborhoods and small houses.

Chinese leaders have a powerful visualization of a society where 70% is urban and 30% is rural. To do this, one needs a large amount of oil and coal to provide energy. But after all this, where is China headed? What would the environment and even this planet become? 

Through Edward Burtynsky’s lens, the metaphorical images about the dilemma of modern life, the pursuit of progress, a dialogue between gravity (an enchanting beauty) and thrust (the horror) created an uncomfortable contradiction.

We act according to our wishes - "a better life" but we also realize that the world is devastated and heartbroken by our success. We exploit and depend on nature to provide the materials produced for consumption - and we are also interested in the health of the planet.

"Manufactured Landscape" could be considered as a reflection of the generation we’re living in.