AGATHE SIMON
Celestial Attraction

3-channel documentary
4K single-channel or 3 HD screens, 5.1 or stereo, 14’59, 2026

© Agathe Simon

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

“The work […] embraces the beauty of the unknown.”

“A body of work that sought not only to take visitors on a journey but also to question the very nature of their perception and their relationship to the world.”

Download the full project presentation

At an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), in an Argentine desert where a new telescope rises, a cosmologist and a llama herder embody two contrasting visions of the creation of the universe.

Yolanda, a Kolla llama herder, holds a deep faith in God and in Pachamama (Mother-Earth). Beatriz, a cosmologist of European origin, leads the Argentine team operating the QUBIC telescope, installed on Yolanda’s land. Everything seems to set these two women apart. Yet Yolanda and Beatriz come together during a Pachamama ceremony at the foot of QUBIC.

Celestial Attraction is a 3-channel documentary built on fragmented sequences and desaturated images, revealing both the austerity of the desert and the partial nature of all human knowledge. By focusing on the stories and rituals of these two women, the film unfolds a dialogue between science, tradition, and the quest for the unknown.

Celestial Attraction is part of the Ex Nihilo cycle. It can be presented alongside the lecture-performance Imaging the Unknown as part of a 90-minute event featuring cosmologist Jean-Christophe Hamilton and artist-researcher Agathe Simon.

Credits

Direction: Agathe Simon
Production: Anne Rannou-Gillot & Étienne Roussel | The Group
In association with: Arielle Gillot-Rannou, Sébastien Lemaire, Viviane Monel-Villa
Cinematography & sound, original score, postproduction: Agathe Simon
Additional Sound (Pachamama): Mauricio Maori
5.1 and stereo mix: Mireille Faure
Subtitles: Denise Cobello

PARTNERS

Support & Funding

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 also received support from the Splash funding program, led by RN13BIS – Contemporary Art in Normandy, thanks to funding from the DRAC Normandy and the Normandy Region. It was developed as part of the 2022 Documentary Workshop at La Fémis (National Higher School of Image and Sound Professions).

Scientific Partners

This project was developed in partnership with the Astroparticle & Cosmology Laboratory (APC) led by the University of Paris, the CNRS, the DIM-Origines of the Île-de-France region, and the ANR. It was also developed in partnership with the INFN in Italy and the Institute of Detection and Astroparticle Technology (ITeDA) in Argentina, led by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the University of San Martín (UNSAM) and the UTN Mendoza.

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

“The work […] embraces the beauty of the unknown.”

“A body of work that sought not only to take visitors on a journey but also to question the very nature of their perception and their relationship to the world.”

PARTNERS

Support & Funding

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 also received support from the Splash funding program, led by RN13BIS – Contemporary Art in Normandy, thanks to funding from the DRAC Normandy and the Normandy Region. It was developed as part of the 2022 Documentary Workshop at La Fémis (National Higher School of Image and Sound Professions).

Scientific Partners

This project was developed in partnership with the Astroparticle & Cosmology Laboratory (APC) led by the University of Paris, the CNRS, the DIM-Origines of the Île-de-France region, and the ANR. It was also developed in partnership with the INFN in Italy and the Institute of Detection and Astroparticle Technology (ITeDA) in Argentina, led by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the University of San Martín (UNSAM) and the UTN Mendoza.