Film
Where the Rio Grande flows into the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX’s rockets are launched. Astronomers gaze at the sky, street vendors hawk their wares and environmental campaigners assess the impact. Welcome to Boca Chica, Texas, where SHIFTING BASELINES turns its attention to Starbase, the launch site for Elon Musk’s SpaceX and a symbol of contemporary space exploration ambitions.
Shifting Baselines shows how the development of Starbase, the production and launch base of Elon Musk’s space company, is radically transforming the natural and urban landscape: marshes are disappearing, beaches are being cut off, and residents are seeing their living environment change irrevocably.
Through dramatic black-and-white cinematography, director Julien Élie brings together different perspectives: residents who are resisting the impact on their environment, scientists who are warning of space debris and light pollution, and enthusiasts who cheer on the launches and rally behind the dream of space exploration.
In this way, Shifting Baselines lays bare the tension between technological progress and ecological responsibility, whilst placing the local impact of the space industry within a broader context of satellite pollution, space debris and the growing human presence beyond Earth.
Shifting Baselines is therefore not just about rockets, but about the ideas that shape progress. The promise of a new world elsewhere can push the destruction of the world here into the background. As we turn our gaze ever further towards space, the film poses a simple yet uncomfortable question: who is the explorer, who is the survivor, and who is left behind?
The screening on 3 November will be preceded by an introduction.
"One Small Step for Musk, One Giant Leap Back for Mankind."
03.11.2026
Can’t make it today? Don’t worry! This film will also be screened on 17.11.2026 (without an introduction).
19.45h
Director: Julien Élie
2025, Canada
GreenGround Productions
Distribution: Les Films du 3 mars & Filmotor
Running time: 100 mins.
Language: Spoken languages: EN/FR/ES. Subtitles: NL
Cast: Samantha Lawler, Jonathan McDowell, Daniel Pauly
Winner of the Green Dox Award at Dokufest 2025
Finalist for the Prix Luc-Perreault 2026.
De Cinema
Maarschalk Gérardstraat 4
2000 Antwerp
€9 standard
€6,5 reduction
Flanders Architecture Institute x De Cinema
the Government of Flanders
Need assistance or want to use extra facilities? Email tickets@destudio.com and they will be happy to help.
