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The Salton Sea is a relatively still body of water. Contrary to its name, it\u2019s an artificial lake located<\/a> in Southern California. But the government\u2019s use of the lake as an atomic bomb testing site wreaked havoc on nearby communities, the effects of which are still felt by inhabitants today<\/a>. Screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, \u201cAMONG THE PALMS THE BOMB, or: Looking for reflections in the toxic field of plenty\u201d puts together perspectives of local residents to tell a story<\/a> about the Salton Sea\u2019s troubling environmental history.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Salton Sea was a popular<\/a> recreation destination in the 1950s. However, agricultural runoff and evaporation have led to a decrease<\/a> in wildlife and poor air quality in recent years. The exploration of these environmental problems in \u201cAMONG THE PALMS THE BOMB\u201d are two-fold. The toxins from atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. military led to environmental disaster, making certain plant and animal life unsustainable. On top of the negligent consequences of military-related land use, climate change has slowly decreased<\/a> the water level. Both of these problems pose issues down the line for the Salton Sea since it will continue to become less sustainable for life, and it will dry up<\/a> if nothing is implemented to combat the toxicity and falling water levels.<\/p>\n In most documentaries, the narrative direction does not solely depend on the editing of the film, but directors Lukas Marxt and Vanja Smiljani\u0107 explore the vast difference in experiences through the film\u2019s editing. The audio and visual footage in \u201cAMONG THE PALMS THE BOMB\u201d come primarily from interviews, in addition to some extra footage displaying the specific subjects the interviewees talk about. The footage speaks for itself \u2014 there\u2019s no need to inject the voice of an external narrator into the mix, a commonality of many journalistic documentaries \u2014 when the people experiencing the Salton Sea can be that voice instead. One group of focus is the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, who are indigenous<\/a> to the Martinez Canyon. In one scene, Marxt and Smiljani\u0107 highlight several tribe members performing a traditional bird song. The bird song asks the Creator to guide them back to the desert, which directly relates to the 1860s<\/a> genocide after the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and several other tribes were forced out of their homes by European settlers.<\/p>\n There are a couple of scenes when the non-interview footage lingers for an unexplained reason, such as footage of a cameraperson walking toward a replica of one of the atomic bombs \u2014 the only interjection of external narration that didn\u2019t seem to have a clear purpose. However, there are other times where it perfectly frames the context of the situation. Marxt and Smiljani\u0107 also include footage of what appears to be sand on the shores of the Salton Sea, but is actually a build-up of dead bugs and creatures due to the shoreline\u2019s toxicity. This footage lingering on the build-up of dead creatures worked well to emphasize the devastation of bomb testing on the local environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n