At 5,000 meters in a windswept desert, two Argentine women embody contrasting visions of the universe’s origins, meeting amidst this high-altitude landscape where science and tradition coexist.

Yolanda, a Kolla llama herder, lives with her family on a high-altitude desert and believes deeply in God and the Pachamama. Beatriz, an Argentine cosmologist of European origin, leads the local team operating the new QUBIC telescope, hoping to push humanity’s understanding of the universe’s origins. The daily lives and beliefs of Yolanda and Beatriz could not be more different. In addition, the telescope stands on Yolanda’s land. Yet the two women come together during a Pachamama ceremony at the foot of QUBIC.

The film was shot in a three-channel format, using desaturated images and fragmentary sequences to reflect both the austerity of the landscape and the partial nature of human knowledge. By focusing on the two women’s routines and gestures, the documentary reveals a dialogue between science, tradition, and the search for the unknown.

This project is supported by the CNC (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image), the DRAC Île-de-France (French Ministry of Culture) and ADAGP (the first french visual artists’ rights management organisation). It was developed as part of the 2022 Documentary Workshop at La Fémis (National Higher School of Image and Sound Professions).