Artist and engineer Joaquin Fargas blends art and science to confront the climate crisis, creating miniature sealed ecosystems that challenge humanity to recognize the fragility of our planet.
Derived from the feature documentary Utopian (still in prodction), Like Aliens is a visually striking short film that explores the vital intersection of art, technology, and environmental activism. While the broader documentary follows artist and man of science Joaquin Fargas on a quest of poetic protest across extreme landscapes like Antarctica and the Lithium Triangle, this short turns the lens from the vast to the microscopic.
Like Aliens focuses entirely on Fargas's "Biosphere Project." By isolating living, natural ecosystems inside hermetically sealed polycarbonate spheres, Fargas creates a living metaphor for Earth. The film invites viewers to observe the world from this infinitesimal scale, demonstrating that just as these miniature biospheres rely on a delicate, enclosed balance to survive, so does our own planet. It is a stark, poetic reminder that the fate of these encapsulated worlds—much like Earth itself—rests entirely in our hands.
Showcased at the Climate Crisis Film Festival in Glasgow during COP26 and tied to a climate change TV series developed with Elizabeth Markevitch's Ikono Tv, the film is perfectly aligned with platforms that fuse science and cinema. Ultimately, Like Aliens captures how art enables Fargas to tackle pressing issues that are too often overlooked, planting a crucial seed of debate for the audience.