The Mountain & The Maiden: A Hard Hitting Documentary With Several Messages

The Mountain & The Maiden follows a day in the life of Aspiya, a 10-year-old girl living with her younger brother, older sister, and parents in a one-room-shack in Delhi near Asia’s biggest landfill. Aspiya is the main supporter of her family. Every day, she walks up the landfill to collect trash that then will later be sold to companies that reuse the materials for their products.  The subtexts of pollution, child labor, and our modern lifestyle of waste are eclipsed by the enthusiasm for life, a determined positive outlook, and happiness carried by Aspiya, despite her circumstances.

Aspiya’s story is one of hardship and oppression. This hard-hitting and powerful documentary allows us to witness the harsh realities of a cruel and unfair world. It’s brutally honest and provides a sad and truthful account of what it’s like for a child to live near one of Asia’s largest landfills in Delhi.

Filmmakers Shmuel Hoffman and Anton von Heiseler are raising funds to help the family leave the landfill and return to their original home town in Bangalore. For further information please visit the film’s website.

The film will be screened at the FirstGlance Film Festival on Sunday, November 15th at 3:30PM.

About Author

David Emmanuel Noel

David Emmanuel Noel is an avid blogger, film fanatic, art enthusiast, music lover, and theatergoer. He is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and PR consultant who has been involved in several music events and visual art exhibitions at venues such as the Kennedy Center Washington DC, Bernie Grant Arts Centre London, the Landmark Arts Building New York, and Whole 9 Gallery in Culver City, California. He has worked closely with institutes, professional bodies, and agencies such as the Royal Institute of British Architects, New York Mayor’s Office, CAMBA- the New York-based agency, the NSPCC, and several London Boroughs on projects supporting the environmental and therapeutic benefits of the arts. He is based in London and New York.

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