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Where the Rio Grande meets the sea, the rockets of SpaceX are launched; astronomers gaze skyward, hawkers shill their wares and environmentalists survey the damage. Welcome to Boca Chica, USA
At the southern tip of Texas, surrounded by pristine wetlands, lies Boca Chica. In 2018, Elon Musk chose this coastal town for SpaceX’s new headquarters. The village is now dominated by towering 50-storey Starships. Most residents have moved out; access to the beach is becoming harder as SpaceX gains control of the area.
The village has become a mecca for space junkies dreaming of Mars as an escape from Earth’s problems. Across the Rio Grande, Mexican families fish under the watchful eye of the border patrol. One group of people dreams of leaving, while another would risk everything to call it home.
Meanwhile, scientists worry about the effects of this current Space Race. The 1970s “Kessler syndrome” warned that space debris collisions could trigger a chain reaction, destroying everything in orbit. Once considered unlikely, this is now a real concern for many astrophysicists. A shift has occurred, both in the sky and on Earth. Are these visions of a promising future or reckless ambitions leading to our own demise? Somehow, the entirety of the hopes and dreams, the fears and misgivings of our human species are on display here, on the banks of the Rio Grande, in the small Texan town of Boca Chica.
In 2002, Julien Elie directed his first documentary about the death penalty in the USA, followed by a medium-length documentary filmed in East Africa the same year. After taking a fifteen-year hiatus from cinema, he returned in 2018 with his film Dark Suns. The epic story about the wave of violence that has affected Mexico for years won multiple awards and distinctions (CPH DOX, FICUNAM, Hamburg film Festival, etc.) and was presented in nearly sixty festivals worldwide. In 2023, La Guardia Blanca, a second feature-length documentary filmed in Mexico, addressing the devastation of landscapes and territories by private companies, was released. Shifting Baselines, his latest film, has had a remarkable festival run with selections all over the world, including Visions du Réel (Nyon), Hot Docs (Toronto), Summer IFF (Hong Kong), DokuFest (Kosovo) — winner of the Green Dox Award, Camden International Film Festival (USA), Filmfest Hamburg (Germany), Festival du nouveau cinéma (Montreal), VIFF (Vancouver), Festival international du film de La Roche-sur-Yon (France), and the Blue Planet Future Festival (South Korea), where it won the Hannarae Blue Planet Award.
Where the Rio Grande meets the sea, the rockets of SpaceX are launched; astronomers gaze skyward, hawkers shill their wares and environmentalists survey the damage. Welcome to Boca Chica, USA
At the southern tip of Texas, surrounded by pristine wetlands, lies Boca Chica. In 2018, Elon Musk chose this coastal town for SpaceX’s new headquarters. The village is now dominated by towering 50-storey Starships. Most residents have moved out; access to the beach is becoming harder as SpaceX gains control of the area.
The village has become a mecca for space junkies dreaming of Mars as an escape from Earth’s problems. Across the Rio Grande, Mexican families fish under the watchful eye of the border patrol. One group of people dreams of leaving, while another would risk everything to call it home.
Meanwhile, scientists worry about the effects of this current Space Race. The 1970s “Kessler syndrome” warned that space debris collisions could trigger a chain reaction, destroying everything in orbit. Once considered unlikely, this is now a real concern for many astrophysicists. A shift has occurred, both in the sky and on Earth. Are these visions of a promising future or reckless ambitions leading to our own demise? Somehow, the entirety of the hopes and dreams, the fears and misgivings of our human species are on display here, on the banks of the Rio Grande, in the small Texan town of Boca Chica.
In 2002, Julien Elie directed his first documentary about the death penalty in the USA, followed by a medium-length documentary filmed in East Africa the same year. After taking a fifteen-year hiatus from cinema, he returned in 2018 with his film Dark Suns. The epic story about the wave of violence that has affected Mexico for years won multiple awards and distinctions (CPH DOX, FICUNAM, Hamburg film Festival, etc.) and was presented in nearly sixty festivals worldwide. In 2023, La Guardia Blanca, a second feature-length documentary filmed in Mexico, addressing the devastation of landscapes and territories by private companies, was released. Shifting Baselines, his latest film, has had a remarkable festival run with selections all over the world, including Visions du Réel (Nyon), Hot Docs (Toronto), Summer IFF (Hong Kong), DokuFest (Kosovo) — winner of the Green Dox Award, Camden International Film Festival (USA), Filmfest Hamburg (Germany), Festival du nouveau cinéma (Montreal), VIFF (Vancouver), Festival international du film de La Roche-sur-Yon (France), and the Blue Planet Future Festival (South Korea), where it won the Hannarae Blue Planet Award.
