Among the Palms the Bombs

On the shores of the Salton Sea in Southern California, the ground itself begins to speak. What appears to be sand is in fact a dense layer of fish remains, plant matter and insects — the residue of an ecosystem increasingly pushed out of balance. Falling water levels, rising salinity and environmental stress are visibly transforming the landscape, turning the lake into a site of ongoing decay. Voices from the region, including members of the Cahuilla community, reflect on the complex relationship between environment, history and human presence. Rather than following a linear narrative, AMONG THE PALMS THE BOMB adopts a precise observational approach. Moving through the landscape, the film gradually reveals the layers embedded within it. Through calm and carefully composed images, Lukas Marxt and Vanja Smiljanić create a meditative exploration of a place where ecological change and historical traces converge. The film screened, among others, at DOK Leipzig.