“Power in the Desert” – a Q&A with Emiliano Rodriguez Nuesch

Ahead of our Earth Day 2025 screening of Power in the Desert, ERI’s Austin Mendoza spoke with director and producer Emiliano Rodriguez Nuesch to talk about the film’s journey—from the Salton Sea to the Lithium Triangle. In this interview, Emiliano reflects on the creative process, the film’s key themes, and the ways distant communities are linked by a shared stake in the lithium energy transition and the green future.

What motivated you to create Power in the Desert?

When I met Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor, I learned about the realities facing local communities around the Salton Sea—communities deeply affected by the so-called lithium promise. I also began to understand what green justice and community benefits mean in the context of California’s energy transition.

That made me wonder: how does this apply in the Global South? I saw an opportunity to visit northern Argentina and Chile, where lithium is extracted, to explore what’s happening on the ground, compare different realities, and create space for shared learning. I felt there was a story that needed to be told.

What was the process of creating Power in the Desert, and how did that inform the final cut?

It was very much a personal journey. I set out on a road trip across three deserts in three countries, meeting incredible people along the way. Each one offered a unique perspective on how their communities are navigating the energy transition—what it means for them, and how they’re choosing to respond. That lived experience shaped the tone and structure of the film.

How does Power in the Desert supplement the story and themes of Charging Forward?

Power in the Desert zooms out to offer a regional perspective and explore how communities in both the North and South are affected by different stages of the electric battery supply chain.

In the South, many of the people affected by lithium extraction don’t even have access to electric cars—most have never even seen one. Their visions of the future are shaped by entirely different realities.

At the same time, the film reveals common ground: communities in both the North and South are asking the same questions—how can they benefit, and how can they be meaningfully included in decision-making?

How did you aim to use film as a medium to communicate the stories of the Imperial Valley and the Lithium Triangle, and the ways in which the regions are interconnected?

I wanted to give visibility to the people living in these affected regions. Even though they’re worlds apart, they’re connected through the global supply chain for electric vehicle batteries.

Just like we’ve developed fair trade labels for coffee or chocolate, conscious consumers of electric vehicles may begin to ask where the lithium in their batteries comes from—and whether it was extracted sustainably. Storytelling can help make these invisible connections visible.

What do you hope audiences take away from Power in the Desert?

I hope the film sparks real conversations about what sustainable development should look like—and what conditions are necessary to make the clean energy transition fair and inclusive.

As Manuel Pastor puts it, the climate crisis is a crisis of disconnection: from nature and from each other. I hope this film can be a connector—bridging distant places, people, and perspectives in ways that lead to new forms of solidarity.