AMONG THE PALMS THE BOMB, or: Looking for reflections in the toxic field of plenty

The Salton Sea is California's largest lake and an endangered ecosystem. Located near a former World War II atomic bomb testing site, red algae and a drastic drop in water levels are causing certain bird species to go extinct. But the life-threatening circumstances in this area stretch even further: undocumented farmworkers from Latin America labor in monoculture fields. They seek refuge from the Border Patrol in Native American reservations, whose people were themselves victims of a large-scale genocide in the mid-19th century. Only their stories recall a time when they lived in harmony with nature. In their cinematic exploration, Lukas Marxt and Vanja Smiljanić approach this microcosm with long takes and tracking shots. The starting point is the grounds of the military museum in Wendover, Utah, where the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were built; models of "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" can still be seen behind glass display cases. However, as one protagonist says, the hope for more security after the Cold War is merely an "illusion." (Anja Klauck)