Shifting Baselines
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| Shifting Baselines | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Julien Élie |
| Written by | Julien Élie |
| Produced by | Julien Élie Andreas Mendritzki Aonan Yang |
| Cinematography | François Messier-Rheault Glauco Bermudez |
| Edited by | Xi Feng |
Production company | GreenGround Productions |
| Distributed by | Les Films du 3 mars Filmotor |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | English French Spanish |
Shifting Baselines is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Julien Élie and released in 2025.[1] The film profiles the environmental and social impact of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starbase project on the region of Boca Chica, Texas.[2]
The film premiered on April 5, 2025, at the Visions du Réel documentary film festival,[3] and had its Canadian premiere at the 2025 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[4]
Critical response
[edit]Walter Neto of the International Cinephile Society wrote that the film "understands the power of the stories we tell ourselves, not just about the past, but about the future. And in doing so it never shies away from, for example, calling out Elon Musk’s Starlink project and its disastrous launches and its role in contributing to space pollution, a commendable quality of the film. In other words, Shifting Baselines suggests that the push to colonize Mars is, above all, a program to colonize our minds, to make it seem acceptable for governments to ignore the environmental catastrophes happening here and now. Because supposedly there’s a backup plan, a fresh start waiting elsewhere."[2]
For Point of View, Pat Mullen wrote that the film "gives the endeavour credit as it illustrates how communities across the world benefit from SpaceX’s StarLink satellites and the internet they provide. The arresting cinematography by Glauco Bermudez and François Messier-Rheault builds a sense of unease as Elie takes audiences away from Boca Chica to observe different corners of the globe that thrive without really seeing the consequences with which SpaceX achieves progress."[4]
Allan Hunter of Screen Daily wrote that "One of the most appealing aspects of the documentary is the striking black and white cinematography of Glauco Bermudez and Francois Messier-Rheault which captures ashen beaches, snowy landscapes and a feeling of Boca Chica as something otherworldly. Elie’s priority is always the human perspective on the sweeping changes around Boca Chica, where beaches are deserted and houses exist to service the needs of what has become a company village (with shades of Wes Anderson's Asteroid City). He gradually expands the focus to look at the space race through more critical, concerned eyes. Many of these interviewed are never identified, but one person remarks that few of the ordinary citizens of Boca Chica or nearby Mexico are ever likely to afford a ticket for space travel."[5]
Awards
[edit]The film won the Green Dox Award for best environmental documentary at the 2025 edition of Dokufest.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Lise Pedersen, "‘Shifting Baselines,’ Examining SpaceX’s Impact on Boca Chica, Home to Elon Musk’s Starbase, Picked Up by Filmotor". Variety, March 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Walter Neto, "Visions du Réel 2025 review: Shifting Baselines (Julien Elie)". International Cinephile Society, April 10, 2025.
- ^ Nicholas Sokic, "Two Canadian docs set for Visions du Réel world premieres". Playback, March 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Pat Mullen, "Shifting Baselines Review: One Small Step for Musk, One Giant Leap Back for Mankind". Point of View, April 26, 2025.
- ^ Allan Hunter, "‘Shifting Baselines’ review: Behind the scenes at Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starbase". Screen Daily, April 8, 2025.
- ^ "“SOS”, winner of the 24th edition of “DokuFest”". KOHA, August 9, 2025.
External links
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* denotes unflown vehicles or engines, and future missions or sites. † denotes failed missions, destroyed vehicles, and abandoned sites. | |||||||||
- 2025 films
- 2025 documentary films
- 2025 independent films
- 2025 Canadian films
- Canadian documentary films
- Canadian independent films
- Documentary films about environmental issues
- Documentary films about outer space
- Documentary films about Texas
- English-language Canadian films
- Films about astronomy
- Films directed by Julien Élie
- Films shot in Belize
- Films shot in Massachusetts
- Films shot in Mexico
- Films shot in Saskatchewan
- Films shot in Texas
- Films shot in the Canary Islands
- French-language Canadian films
- Quebec films
- Spanish-language Canadian films
| Shifting Baselines | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Julien Élie |
| Written by | Julien Élie |
| Produced by | Julien Élie Andreas Mendritzki Aonan Yang |
| Cinematography | François Messier-Rheault Glauco Bermudez |
| Edited by | Xi Feng |
Production company | GreenGround Productions |
| Distributed by | Les Films du 3 mars Filmotor |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | English French Spanish |
Shifting Baselines is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Julien Élie and released in 2025.[1] The film profiles the environmental and social impact of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starbase project on the region of Boca Chica, Texas.[2]
The film premiered on April 5, 2025, at the Visions du Réel documentary film festival,[3] and had its Canadian premiere at the 2025 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[4]
Critical response
Walter Neto of the International Cinephile Society wrote that the film "understands the power of the stories we tell ourselves, not just about the past, but about the future. And in doing so it never shies away from, for example, calling out Elon Musk’s Starlink project and its disastrous launches and its role in contributing to space pollution, a commendable quality of the film. In other words, Shifting Baselines suggests that the push to colonize Mars is, above all, a program to colonize our minds, to make it seem acceptable for governments to ignore the environmental catastrophes happening here and now. Because supposedly there’s a backup plan, a fresh start waiting elsewhere."[2]
For Point of View, Pat Mullen wrote that the film "gives the endeavour credit as it illustrates how communities across the world benefit from SpaceX’s StarLink satellites and the internet they provide. The arresting cinematography by Glauco Bermudez and François Messier-Rheault builds a sense of unease as Elie takes audiences away from Boca Chica to observe different corners of the globe that thrive without really seeing the consequences with which SpaceX achieves progress."[4]
Allan Hunter of Screen Daily wrote that "One of the most appealing aspects of the documentary is the striking black and white cinematography of Glauco Bermudez and Francois Messier-Rheault which captures ashen beaches, snowy landscapes and a feeling of Boca Chica as something otherworldly. Elie’s priority is always the human perspective on the sweeping changes around Boca Chica, where beaches are deserted and houses exist to service the needs of what has become a company village (with shades of Wes Anderson's Asteroid City). He gradually expands the focus to look at the space race through more critical, concerned eyes. Many of these interviewed are never identified, but one person remarks that few of the ordinary citizens of Boca Chica or nearby Mexico are ever likely to afford a ticket for space travel."[5]
Awards
The film won the Green Dox Award for best environmental documentary at the 2025 edition of Dokufest.[6]
References
- ^ Lise Pedersen, "‘Shifting Baselines,’ Examining SpaceX’s Impact on Boca Chica, Home to Elon Musk’s Starbase, Picked Up by Filmotor". Variety, March 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Walter Neto, "Visions du Réel 2025 review: Shifting Baselines (Julien Elie)". International Cinephile Society, April 10, 2025.
- ^ Nicholas Sokic, "Two Canadian docs set for Visions du Réel world premieres". Playback, March 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Pat Mullen, "Shifting Baselines Review: One Small Step for Musk, One Giant Leap Back for Mankind". Point of View, April 26, 2025.
- ^ Allan Hunter, "‘Shifting Baselines’ review: Behind the scenes at Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starbase". Screen Daily, April 8, 2025.
- ^ "“SOS”, winner of the 24th edition of “DokuFest”". KOHA, August 9, 2025.
External links
- Shifting Baselines at IMDb
| Launch vehicles |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spacecraft |
| ||||||||
| Test vehicles |
| ||||||||
| Rocket engines | |||||||||
| Lists of missions | |||||||||
| Launch facilities | |||||||||
| Landing sites |
| ||||||||
| Other facilities | |||||||||
| Support |
| ||||||||
| Contracts | |||||||||
| R&D programs | |||||||||
| Key people |
| ||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||
* denotes unflown vehicles or engines, and future missions or sites. † denotes failed missions, destroyed vehicles, and abandoned sites. | |||||||||
