Broken Land

Somewhere in this deserted landscape along the enormous border, which separates the United States from Mexico, a small community of Americans lives their daily lives in the shadow of the fence, erected to protect them from clandestine immigration. They all monitor the traces left by the crossing migrants. Stirring shadows on surveillance cameras, skeletal remains fading in the sun or mere footprints in the sand: the ghostly presence of those who are simply passing through becomes an obsession for some of the residents. Each in their own way is affected by this immense scar, which scores the horizon, and has become a breeding ground for myths and fantasies. Some barricade themselves off behind a multitude of surveillance gadgets, dominated by a fear of the unknown. Others feel the need to actively defend their territory, finding a purpose to their often solitary lives. Others, outraged by the continuous monitoring of the border and the intrusion into their privacy, try to help migrants in need. Endearing and complex, they disclose their anguish, at the forefront of a society that is closing itself off.