Landfill Harmonic

When Luis Szaran and Favio Chavez came to Cateura to start a music school, they realized that they had more students than instruments. Thanks to the resourcefulness of Cola, a Cateurian garbage picker, an orchestra came together, now featuring violins, cellos, and other instruments artfully put together from trash. Known as "Los Reciclados de Cateura", the orchestra later became independent. In 2012 it performed in Brazil and Colombia under Chavez’s direction.[6]

Executive Producer Alejandra Nash said: "I was born in Asuncion, Paraguay. I dreamed of the opportunity to help my country in a creative way; a way of bringing awareness to issues that revolve around children and women in Paraguay, so the idea of a documentary became the first seed. I contacted Juliana, who I met through a friend, and knowing she is a producer we started our research. During that phase, I met with Luis Szaran, the director of a non profit organization (Sounds of the Earth) that brings music schools to the poorest areas in Paraguay. Los Reciclados story instantly took my breath away. Since then we have gone to Cateura, Paraguay several times filming the children and Cola, who all live there. Cola is the luthier, the sweet and humble garbage picker who makes those wonderful instruments for the children. Favio Chavez is the director and heart of the orchestra. His love and commitment to these children is fascinating"

Juliana Penaranda-Loftus: "We heard a story about an orchestra that was put together using recycled garbage in April of 2009, it was during our first research trip to Paraguay. In the summer 2010, Alejandra and I came back with director of photography and friend Tim Fabrizio. We arrived to do some initial filming in order to produce a trailer. During that trip, we met the first group of children who were part of the recycled Orchestra, those children are now playing with professional Orchestras. We have been following this story since then. We went back in 2011 and have gone twice in 2012. Now there is a new group of children that have joined the orchestra. We have witnessed the commitment that Favio Chavez (orchestra director) has towards these children of Cateura, their families and their community. There is a whole social process that happens behind running the orchestra. We have developed very strong ties with them during these years and this is a story that goes way beyond the screen"

The film has been given good reviews by noted film critics such as Ken Jaworoski of The New York Times, who (apart from criticizing the documentary's interview style) said that it was "an inspiring tale" and the children involved in it "wonderful to watch".[7] The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore, called it "[a]n unlikely breakthrough story whose happy endings come with asterisks".[8]

This film was shortlisted for the Environmental Award at the 2015 Sheffield Doc/Fest documentary festival,[9] where it won a special mention.[10]

In the United States, the film is shown on HBO.[11]

• 2015 Winner, Audience Award – “24 Beats Per Second”, South By Southwest Film Festival [12]
• 2015 Winner, The Moving Mountains Prize (third place), Telluride Mountainfilm Festival[13]
• 2015 Winner, Runner Up Audience Award for Best Feature Film, Illuminate Film Festival 2015
• 2015 Winner, Audience Award and Inspiring Lives Award, San Francisco Green Film Festival 2015
• 2015 Winner, Family Friendly feature Award, Maui Film Festival 2015[14]
• 2015 Special Mention, Environmental category, Sheffield Doc Festival 2015[15]
• 2015 winner, VIFF Impact: International Audience Award, Vancouver International Film Festival[16][17]

• Official website
• Landfill Harmonic at IMDb
• Official site of Recycled Orchestra
• Official site of Sounds of the Earth
• Official site of NGO geAm
• Official site of NGO Alter Vida
• Official blog of Procicla
• Official site of Empo Ltda. y Asociados