Manufactured Landscapes

A protracted exploration of the aesthetic, social and spiritual dimensions of industrialization and globalization. Raises some significant and sobering questions about the impact that we, as humans, make on our environment.
-New York Times
Beautiful, insightful and thought-provoking
-Al Gore

Synopsis

Manufactured Landscapes is a feature documentary on the work of internationally renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. The film follows him as he travels through China photographing the evidence and effects of that country's massive industrial revolution. The Three Gorges Dam, factory floors a kilometre long and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai's urban renewal are subjects for his lens and our motion picture camera. Shot in Super-16mm film, the documentary extends the narratives of Burtynsky's photographs, meditating on human impact on the planet without trying to reach simplistic judgements or reductive resolutions. In the process, it shifts our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it.

Theatrical Release Date

Friday, September 29, 2006
Original Languages: English
Genre: Canadian, Documentary, Environment
Running Time: 88 min.
Year: 2006

CREDITS

CAST
Edward Burtynsky
DIRECTED BY
Jennifer Baichwal

TRAILER


PHOTOS

Peter Mettler (director of photography, at left) and Edward Burtynsky, Shipbuilding Quiligang, Yuequing, China.
Edward Burtynsky with his camera.
Peter Mettler (director of photography) with camera, Shipbuilding Quiligang Yuequing, China
Cankun Factory, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Three Gorges Dam Project, Feg Jie #5Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky.
Bao Steel in Shanghai, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Noah Weinzweig (China line producer, at left) and Edward Burtynsky in the Tianjin suburbs, China. Photo by Peter Mettler
Noah Weinzweig (China line producer, at left) and Edward Burtynsky at the Tianjin coal distribution center, China. Photo by Peter Mettler.
Jennifer Baichwal (director, at centre), Peter Mettler (director of photography, right) John Price (camera assistant, at far right), and crowd, Wushan, China.
Peter Mettler (director of photography, at left) and Jennifer Baichwal (director) at a dam site.
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtynsky (left) and Peter Mettler (director of photography) at Cankun Factory, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China.
Shipyard at Qili Port, Zhejiang Province, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Circuit Boards for recycling in Guiyu, Guangdong Province, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Shipbreaking in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Photo by Edward Burtynsky
Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, China. Photo by Edward Burtynsky