시놉시스
이민자와 사회적 약자의 '아메리칸드림'이 정말로 실현될 것만 같은, 뉴욕 한복판에 위치한 거대한 플라스틱 왕국, 제4의 왕국.
감독
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아단 알리아가
Adan AliagaEl arca de Noé (2014)
Kanimambo (2013)
La mujer del Eternauta (2012)
Esquivar y pegar (2011)
Estigmas (2009)For me (Alex Lora) the idea of making this film came up several years ago when I moved to New York. I was seeing mountains of garbage bags piled in the streets, and people that would collect the cans and bottles. I thought that there was a contradiction. I started to research about plastic and recycling methods, followed some canners and created a teaser with some vintage recordings, but abandoned the project until I met Adán.
For me (Adán Aliaga) the idea came up when I started collaborating with Sure We Can, a non-for-profit redemption center in NYC, not only a recycling center, but also a community space and a sustainability hub. A place where cans and plastic bottles are exchanged for coins, and where organic waste is recycled to create compost. I talked with Alex and shared some footage, he showed me the teaser he made and we found out that we were on the same page. We started to collaborate together with the idea to make a feature after completing this short film. Now we have been shooting for almost a year.
The truth is that the inspiring work of the center and the people, encourage us to take a close look at the particular logic of this place. From a contemplative and observational approach, our film explores the life of this redemption center and addresses, it in a poetic and cinematic way. The place values sustainability, conservation of the environment and social inclusion. By offering opportunities to underserved minorities and those most vulnerable in our society who are looking for a decent job, respect and a social support system.
We are both Spanish filmmakers living in NYC, Adán in Queens and Alex in Brooklyn. We have directed documentary films with great success. Ana Martinez de Luco, the director of Sure We Can is Spanish too, which created a was an important starting point of connection for this project. We met Ana, and started collaborating with her for a few months, volunteering to help their project to raise $3 million dollars to purchase the property Sure We Can resides on. While filming some video pieces to show the work SWC is doing and their impact in so many peoples lives, we started to get more curious about this special place, our Fourth Kingdom. We have spent so many hours there, seeing and listening through our cameras, and we have become invisible to the people working there. At this point, we felt we were could create a documentary film in the way we like to tell stories. We put together the short film while we continue work on the feature. The response has been awesome.
We renamed the space the Fourth Kingdom, a magical setting, but also in reference to the kingdom of plastics, created by men, in addition to the three natural kingdoms: animal, plant and the mineral. The people of the Fourth Kingdom transform trash into a source of income that allows them to live and integrate into society, to avoid being marginalized.
The short film is an observational documentary about the place, we could say it's character-driven, but our goal was to capture the poetic, emotional and cinematic essence of this special place, renamed by us, as the Fourth Kingdom, a magical setting where everything is possible. From a contemplative, observational and above all respectful approach, we follow different characters that pass through the Fourth Kingdom. We didn't do any interviews, so the dialogue is presented through the conversations that they have. The intention was to create a tone that was poetic and hypnotic. The music will play an important role in creating the atmosphere.
About the characters, the film focus mainly in René, Walter, Eugene, Pier & Ana. The main plot is built around them, through the social integration of disadvantaged people who live in this special place. They are like a family, giving them support and an education in environmental values and sustainability.
We intended to show the humanity of the canners, not focusing on their misfortunes, nor their misery. We were interested in delving into the emotional side of them and their small dreams and goals. Another rule we applied to our was not to leave the space. We didn't want to see the canners collecting cans from the street, but to highlight their daily life inside the Fourth Kingdom.
With this film, we also wanted to address another point of view on what we call “progress” in our modern society. Plastics changed our lives and our world. Waste, pollution, recycling... are new realities, side effects of that evolution, the other side of the dream of progress.In the Fourth Kingdom, the organic and non-organic waste from our consumerist society, become the dreams of hundreds of people, their dreams of progressing, their personal 'American Dream', most of them immigrants, fighting for a better life.
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알렉스 로라
Àlex LoraThy Father's Chair (2016)
Parivara (2016)
Ways (2016)
Godka Cirka (2014)
Only Solomon Lee (2013)For me (Alex Lora) the idea of making this film came up several years ago when I moved to New York. I was seeing mountains of garbage bags piled in the streets, and people that would collect the cans and bottles. I thought that there was a contradiction. I started to research about plastic and recycling methods, followed some canners and created a teaser with some vintage recordings, but abandoned the project until I met Adán.
For me (Adán Aliaga) the idea came up when I started collaborating with Sure We Can, a non-for-profit redemption center in NYC, not only a recycling center, but also a community space and a sustainability hub. A place where cans and plastic bottles are exchanged for coins, and where organic waste is recycled to create compost. I talked with Alex and shared some footage, he showed me the teaser he made and we found out that we were on the same page. We started to collaborate together with the idea to make a feature after completing this short film. Now we have been shooting for almost a year.
The truth is that the inspiring work of the center and the people, encourage us to take a close look at the particular logic of this place. From a contemplative and observational approach, our film explores the life of this redemption center and addresses, it in a poetic and cinematic way. The place values sustainability, conservation of the environment and social inclusion. By offering opportunities to underserved minorities and those most vulnerable in our society who are looking for a decent job, respect and a social support system.
We are both Spanish filmmakers living in NYC, Adán in Queens and Alex in Brooklyn. We have directed documentary films with great success. Ana Martinez de Luco, the director of Sure We Can is Spanish too, which created a was an important starting point of connection for this project. We met Ana, and started collaborating with her for a few months, volunteering to help their project to raise $3 million dollars to purchase the property Sure We Can resides on. While filming some video pieces to show the work SWC is doing and their impact in so many peoples lives, we started to get more curious about this special place, our Fourth Kingdom. We have spent so many hours there, seeing and listening through our cameras, and we have become invisible to the people working there. At this point, we felt we were could create a documentary film in the way we like to tell stories. We put together the short film while we continue work on the feature. The response has been awesome.
We renamed the space the Fourth Kingdom, a magical setting, but also in reference to the kingdom of plastics, created by men, in addition to the three natural kingdoms: animal, plant and the mineral. The people of the Fourth Kingdom transform trash into a source of income that allows them to live and integrate into society, to avoid being marginalized.
The short film is an observational documentary about the place, we could say it's character-driven, but our goal was to capture the poetic, emotional and cinematic essence of this special place, renamed by us, as the Fourth Kingdom, a magical setting where everything is possible. From a contemplative, observational and above all respectful approach, we follow different characters that pass through the Fourth Kingdom. We didn't do any interviews, so the dialogue is presented through the conversations that they have. The intention was to create a tone that was poetic and hypnotic. The music will play an important role in creating the atmosphere.
About the characters, the film focus mainly in René, Walter, Eugene, Pier & Ana. The main plot is built around them, through the social integration of disadvantaged people who live in this special place. They are like a family, giving them support and an education in environmental values and sustainability.
We intended to show the humanity of the canners, not focusing on their misfortunes, nor their misery. We were interested in delving into the emotional side of them and their small dreams and goals. Another rule we applied to our was not to leave the space. We didn't want to see the canners collecting cans from the street, but to highlight their daily life inside the Fourth Kingdom.
With this film, we also wanted to address another point of view on what we call “progress” in our modern society. Plastics changed our lives and our world. Waste, pollution, recycling... are new realities, side effects of that evolution, the other side of the dream of progress.In the Fourth Kingdom, the organic and non-organic waste from our consumerist society, become the dreams of hundreds of people, their dreams of progressing, their personal 'American Dream', most of them immigrants, fighting for a better life.
Credits
- Director, Cinematographer, Editor Adan Aliaga, Àlex Lora
- Producer Adan Aliaga, Àlex Lora, Isa Feliu, Carmen Vidal, Miguel Molina
- Sound Lucas Ariel Vallejos
Contribution & World Sales
- Contribution & World Sales Eduardo Moises Escribano Solera
- E-Mail escribanosolera@mac.com