El mar la mar

The Sonoran Desert, on the border between Mexico and the United States, is the harshest of environments. In the summer, daytime temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius, and water is scarce. As a local puts it, “Everything wants to hurt you here: the plants, the insects, the wild animals.”

Only the very poorest migrants opt to take this route to the US. Those who are lucky can cross the desert in three to five days, but many lose their way and die of thirst or hunger, or are picked up by the border patrol.

El mar la mar relates this human drama through the stories of survivors, trackers and inhabitants of the desert, whose voices we hear on the soundtrack. Visually, the film concentrates on the formidable landscape and its ecology. This meditative, sometimes abstract documentary, shot on 16mm film, employs a poetic exploration of the desert to address a pressing political and social issue.