Zoya’s beautiful garden hides a harsh reality: just beyond lies Armenia’s largest landfill. After 30 years of living here, she knows everything about this microcosm, its inhabitants, humans and animals.

Balkan Watchers 2024

Second Life” is a documentary that observes the daily life of people working in a massive landfill, where men, women, and even children sort through waste to find valuable materials for sale. The storyteller of the film is Zoya : her house is just in front of the dump. Her garden is an extraordinary viewpoint, the best you can get over the dump. The dump used to be much further away, and Zoya would never have imagined that it would one day be right in front of her. Zoya was also a worker in the dump. She knows all the secrets of this microcosm and its inhabitants, human and animals. Through her observations, we dive into the lives of those who labor in this grim place, uncovering the secrets of their double lives and learning why they chose such dangerous and illegal work. Zoya’s stories also bring to light the environmental issues, illegal activities happening on the landfill’s grounds, and their impact on the lives of Yerevan’s residents, the capital of Armenia, located in close proximity to this site.