Roger Ebert named "Scrappers" one of the best documentaries of 2010. The film follows two men who make their living dumpster diving for scrap metal. A few years back, at the height of the scrap metal economy, copper iron or aluminum commanded hundreds of dollars per ton: Not any more. Like the rest of the American economy, the scrap metal industry took a nose dive in 2008. And that’s just some of the drama driving "Scrappers."
Last year, "Eight Forty-Eight" spoke with two of the film’s producers and directors, Ben Kolak and Brian Ashby; Kolak said that gaining the trust of those in the scrapper community wasn’t easy.
The film "Scrappers" screens Friday at the University of Chicago Doc Films on E. 59th St.