Imperial Valley (Cultivated Run-off)

A drone-camera flies over a huge region of industrial agricultural production in the Sorona desert in California. The intricate watering systems, nourished by the Colorado river, form a geometrical landscape, of which each and every inch has been optimized for the agricultural profit. The bird's eye perspective seems to – at first – visually stress the power of man over nature. But in the duration of the film an ambivalence develops: The order and rationality of the images gain an eerie character. Nature and artificiality melt together; the landscape turns into an abstract pattern of lines and dots, while the visual estrangement makes us rethink human interferences on the earth's surface.

  • Duration: 14 Min.
  • Countries: Austria, German
  • Production year: 2018

  • Director: Lukas Marxt