María and Isabel are women in their fifties who, like many others, recycle in Quito, where there is no recycling system. Maria leads a collective fight for basic labor rights; Isabel passes on her knowledge of environmental care while raising her daughters. They walk the streets with recycling material on their backs, generating a better future for themselves and for the city.
Fadia Paola Rodas Ziadé
Ecuadorian filmmaker and visual anthropologist. Her short film Minadores (2007), about recyclers at Quito’s largest garbage dump, was widely screened at international festivals. She premiered her short film Galapagos: Prisión de Basalto in 2013. Ciudad a la Espalda is her debut feature documentary. As a researcher, she explores issues of environment, ethnicity, gender, health and human rights. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in the anthropology program at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in the research line of audiovisual anthropology, medical anthropology and digital humanities.