This film opens with an incredible tracking shot circling the main room of a massive factory, slowly moving closer in toward the action. Rows of people, work stations, conveyer belts, and boxes seem to go on forever; a low mechanical hum hangs heavily in the air. Director Jennifer Baichwal trains her lens on photographer Edward Burtynsky and his series of photographs of “manufactured landscapes.” Following Burtynsky through China, Baichwal captures his process of creating highly detailed large-format images of the effects of industry on our natural world, highlighting the people and places—dams, factories, recycling yards—that bear the burden of our material culture. The film moves through the spaces Burtynsky documents, watching him at work, but also soaking in textures and contexts outside his frame. Key insights from Burtynsky are folded in throughout, yet the film remains largely observational, inviting us to consider our own role in these images as we witness the artist at work.  ST