Redeption in New York – Video of the day

“Everybody used to have a job,” explains a collector of discarded and stray water, beer, and soda bottles in the short documentary Redemption, “now getting a job is like hitting the lotto.” The film, directed by Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill, follows the growing ranks of New York's “canners,” who roam the streets with overstuffed bags in search of recyclables; it's up for an Academy Award this Sunday. “Jon and I were really amazed that a Chinese immigrant in her sixties was able to haul around 100 pounds of cans around the city and outrun me, at 34, with my camera,” O'Neill tells the Playlist. Read on here for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look, but first, check out the trailer, straight ahead.

Redemption from DCTV on Vimeo.