At one end of Texas, where the Rio Grande meets the sea, SpaceX launches rockets, while astronomers look to the sky and environmentalists assess the damage.
Launch coordinates: 25° 59′ 03.78″ N, 97° 11′ 14.47″ W — Boca Chica, Texas. At the SpaceX base, the space project of tycoon Elon Musk, dozens of frenzied fans watch with devotion the liftoff of a Steel Titan. “Three, two, one… Ignition.” The roar of combustion explodes in the air, the metal behemoth rises, leaving a trail of toxicity. Birds scatter in confusion. A few kilometers away, a group of fishermen experience the consequences of climate change, the disappearance of species, and the environmental disaster that covers their coasts.
‘Julien Elie's 'Shifting Baselines' takes its title from the ecological concept that describes how each generation normalizes an increasingly degraded environment, forgetting its original state. From this notion, the film moves between the monumental and the intimate, between technological fascination and environmental ruin, humorously revealing the human paradox of gazing at the sky while being incapable of caring for the planet beneath our feet.
Martín Castillo, programming director of FIDOCS 29.
In 2018, Julien Elie directed 'Black Suns,' a journey to the heart of the wave of violence that swept through Mexico. It screened at numerous festivals and won a dozen awards at events such as BAFICI, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, the Hamburg Film Festival, and the Nashville Film Festival. 'La Garde Blanche' (2023) is his second feature film. In 2025, he premiered 'Shifting Baselines' at Visions du réel.