Cinematography Assist for Impact
Client
GSMA+ReCircle
Project Type
Documentary Film
Year
2024
Overview
Recircle is a sustainability-driven organisation working to redirect plastic waste back into the economy through recycling, repurposing, and reuse. In association with the GSMA Innovation Fund, a documentary was produced to capture the full lifecycle of this transformation from waste collection to resource recovery. For this project, Upper Grove Studio contributed individually for the cinematography, assisting Director of Photography Ankur Ahuja.
The Context
Plastic waste is often seen only at its end point discarded and forgotten. This documentary set out to show something different: the people, systems, and processes that transform waste into value. The film features:
Founders speaking about Recircle’s vision
Waste pickers sharing lived experiences
Workers at recycling facilities
The journey of plastic through sorting, processing, and reintegration
Waste, reimagined.
The Approach
The storytelling focused on process and people. Through interviews and observational montages, the documentary aimed to humanise the circular economy showing not just environmental impact, but social and economic dimensions as well. Cinematography played a key role in capturing:
The texture of everyday labour
The scale of waste processing
The rhythm of systems working in motion
Contribution
Assisted cinematography under DOP Ankur Ahuja
Captured on-ground visuals across collection and recycling locations
Contributed to visual storytelling through observational and montage sequences
This project was undertaken in an individual capacity, contributing to the broader production team.
The Outcome
The documentary offered a grounded look at how circular systems operate in practice highlighting both innovation and human effort behind sustainable change. It reinforced the idea that waste, when reimagined thoughtfully, can become a resource.
