Manufactured Landscapes

de Jennifer Baichwal, Nick De Pencier, Daniel Iron

Edward Burtynsky has gained international recognition for his photographs of what he calls manufactured landscapes. He argues that we have reached past the point now where we are at the mercy of the environment--our planet now lives and dies at our mercy. This is not meant to be a frightening concept, though many of the images are sobering, in this chilling but ultimately beautiful documentary on what industrialization is doing to man and the world as we know it. Or used to know it. Manufactured Landscapes tells the story of these images, and how Burtynsky came to be so fascinated with the concept of human design. It follows a recent photo shoot in China, photographing the effects of that country's massive industrial revolution, showing us a glimpse of what it's like behind the scenes for a famous photographer in action.