The problems of three boys growing up in literal mountains of waste and trash might sound like despairing material for a film. But Garbage Dreams, a documentary by Egyptian-American filmmaker Mai Iskander showing Tuesday, April 21, at the Nashville Film Festival, has won over audiences with the humor and resilience of its subjects. As Jack Silverman writes in this week's Scene cover story on the festival:

Iskander's documentary focuses on the plight of the Zaballeen, Cairo's underclass of indigenous garbage workers, who for 150 years have been picking up trash from people's homes and taking it back to their villages for sustenance. The movie follows Osama, Adham and Nabil, three teenage boys in Cairo's largest Zaballeen village, Mokattam, a city literally filled with garbage. Buoyed by a deep sense of faith and dignity, the boys seem at peace with the cards life has dealt them. But that existence is now threatened by globalization, as the government has begun outsourcing much of its waste disposal work to private European contractors.

Iskander has a long list of camera credits on major-studio pictures such as Deep Impact, One True Thing and The Bone Collector. Thanks to Donald and Brenda Spicer, producers with strong Nashville ties, she talked via email with the Scene about her movie, how the Spicers came to be involved, and the Zaballeen's complex role in a world of waste. MAI ISKANDER: Garbage Dreams is a labor of love that took four years to make. I filmed three teenage boys becoming men: in many respects, the film is a heartwarming coming-of-age story. It's just that it is happening in the most unlikely of places--the world's largest garbage village. I feel fortunate that the film seems to have struck a chord with so many concerned citizens and environmental organizations. When an artist receives this type of support, the film is elevated from an art form to a forum that enlightens the discussion for social justice. The Sundance documentary fund was the first organization to support Garbage Dreams. They typically support films that focus on current human rights issues, civil liberties, and explore critical issues of our time. A year later, I met Tiffany Schauer, the film's executive producer, who believed in the project when it was still young. She was deeply moved by the message of the film, and I affectionately refer to her as the "angel donor." Then, there was Chicken & Egg Pictures, The Jerome Foundation & NYSCA. All these different funders not only supported the film financially, but helped with all sorts of resources and guidance. Then at the last minute, motiveART (Brenda and Donald Spicer) came onboard. A few years back, I had done some cinematography work on a documentary that local Nashville mover Andy McLenon and motiveART are producing on musician Al Kooper. They recently contacted me again to cover Al Kooper's Feb. 7th birthday celebration in NYC. After seeing a rough cut of Garbage Dreams, they offered to help me complete the film, and set it on its course of festival appearances. Brenda became the film's Outreach Coordinator, to help maximize the altruistic impact of the film through connecting with local environmental groups, schools, churches, etc. in the festival cities. SCENE: How did you hear about the Zaballeen, and how did you get involved with the movie? Growing up, as an Egyptian-American, I often visited my extended family in Cairo. When I was a young teenager, friends of my family brought me to Mokattam, the garbage city on the outskirts of Cairo to attend a local wedding. Amidst the crowded rooftops; goats, geese and chicken grazed on remnants of waste. Garbage was piled three stories high, while the children played on a mountain of multi-colored rags. At that time, Cairo, a city of 18 million, had no city wide waste disposal system. For generations, residents depended on the Zaballeen, Egypt's "garbage people" to collect their trash. The Zaballeen made a living by recycling the city's garbage. Every day, the Zaballeen would bring the city's garbage back to their neighborhood--their "garbage city." In 2005, I volunteered to help some Zaballeen students paint murals on the exterior of the Recycling School, the local neighborhood school that had recently opened its doors. I filmed a few of the students--applying vibrant colors and making whimsical pictures on a drab concrete wall--thinking all the while that I could cut together a little film about their mural, and give it to them as a present. In front of the camera, these amazing children blossomed. They were uninhibited and genuinely pleased that an outsider took such interest in them. Most of all, they were proud of their way of life and their history; and like typical teenagers, they wanted to show off their fashion sense, their workout routine, and their music. They were always trying to outdo each other. We all became fast friends. Osama, one of the boys featured in the film, started bragging to his friends that an "international film crew" (in actuality it was just me and my camera) was following him to document his incredibly charismatic self. Neighbors and friends immediately started calling him "Tommy Cruise." I returned to Mokattam many times over the next four years, and filmed these fantastic teens daily scavenging for tiny bits of cardboard and plastic. I was amazed by the hard, dangerous, dreary work that these kids did with their bare hands. Day after day, they would work diligently and proudly, breathing in the dust of the plastic granulators and fabric grinders without complaint and without self-pity. Surrounded by poverty, they were always rich in spirit; filled with ambition and pride; and would never allow a visitor to even buy her own soda. I filmed over 250 hours, documenting all the nuances of their life: their enthusiasm for any new adventure; their longing to find love and acceptance; their desire to make a mark in the world; their aspirations to be the alpha male--the coolest, the most popular; all of the desires that are so strong in us as teenagers and that remain with us as adults. Is there any comparison between the privatized garbage collectors in Cairo and companies like BFI in Middle Tennessee? Only in the sense that they have access to the same kinds of equipment and technology; I think a more accurate comparison could be made between the recycling companies that Adham and Nabil visit in Wales and the ones that we have in many cities in the U.S. Is the Zaballeen's garbage collecting a boon or hindrance to the environment? The Zaballeen work long into the night to clean up after us--the modern, industrialized world. They have created the world's most effective resource recovery system; recycling 80 percent of everything they collect, including composting organic waste. Their efforts actually do more by comparison to save our Earth than any of our modern and more mechanized approaches. From out of the trash, they lifted themselves up out of poverty and have a model solution to more than one of the world's most pressing problems. Of course, even supporters of the Zaballeen recognize that their system of trash collection has its disadvantages. The unsanitary conditions created by bringing the garbage into their homes are compounded by the fact that all the sorting is done with their bare hands. Unfortunately, never having recognized the strikingly high recycling rates of the Zaballeen, and following the international trend to privatize public services, Cairo decided to spend millions on foreign multinational companies to clean up its overpopulated mega-city of 18 million people, when they could have spent a fraction of that to upgrade the Zaballeen system, or at least integrate the best of the Zaballeen's practices into their future solutions. What has happened on the issue since the film was completed, and have you heard from any of the three principals? It has been less than one year since I have been back to finish filming, but these three amazing young boys are growing up very quickly. Osama, the one-time happy slacker, still hopes to find and keep a good and satisfying job. Nabil still dreams of marrying and making a home of his own. Adham wants to modernize the recycling trade. Adham was able to join us at the film's premiere at SXSW in March in Austin, where he received a standing ovation and many requests for autographs. (Here is a link to his speech following the premiere.) He loved exchanging ideas about recycling with people in Austin. I hope that my three friends continue to follow their dreams. I hope the bigger world will recognize that it is these dreamers who become leaders. What do you hope will happen as a result of the film? Although the Zaballeen remain an underclass, they are conscious of having triumphed against the odds in carving out a living for themselves; and they are proud of the job that they do for the city. Once I was walking through the streets of the Mokattam garbage village with Ezzat Naem, the son of a garbage collector; and he was describing how visitors from Cairo hold their noses when they walk through these same streets. Ezzat said: "I ask them if they are hurt by this smell? They say yes. I tell them that this is your garbage, it is not ours. If you don't like the smell, I could ask my people not to go to Cairo for three or four days, and let's see what happens then." Every day, we, the human race, throw out our now defiled, once desired possessions without ever wondering where it is going. I hope that after seeing this film, people will think twice before they throw out their garbage. Our waste is actually a valuable resource that when treated properly has the potential to benefit future generations. The Zaballeen were quick to spot the untapped economic potential of our trash. I hope that Garbage Dreams helps to increase awareness about these natural entrepreneurs; and I hope it sheds some light on the fact that the solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems lie with the urban poor and with indigenous communities. It is time that their voices are finally heard.