Staring at the Sun is a "sc-fi documentary" exploring the dark side of solar geoengineering: the deliberate, large-scale modification of the Earth’s climate systems by manipulating the influence of the sun. Set globally across the Louisiana Bayou to the Arctic Circle, Wyoming to Gstaad, and from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia to the palm oil plantations of Indonesia, this work examines geoengineering proposals that are currently undergoing research and development in both the United States and Europe, as well as current evolutions in climate modeling and digital twin technology. Narrated by multiple protagonists including NASA remote sensing scientists, geoengineering startup CEOs, dilettante documentarians, and a supercomputer called Derecho—all of which are based on real world interviews conducted by the artist—the film also explores how novel technologies continue to shape and redefine our relationship to the world that we call home. Taken broadly, the project examines the implications of planetary-scale engineering projects and the paradox of predictive technologies in foreclosing other possible futures. Staring at the Sun is also supported by the Enter the Hyperscientific residency program at EPFL and mudac in Lausanne.

Alice Bucknell is an artist, writer and educator based in Los Angeles. Their recent work has focused on creating cinematic universes within game worlds, exploring the affective dimensions of video games as interfaces for understanding complex systems, relations and forms of knowledge. Their work has appeared internationally at Ars Electronica with transmediale, LUMINEX in Los Angeles, LEV in Madrid, Serpentine in London, the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale, Gray Area in San Francisco, and the Singapore Art Museum, among others. Their writing appears in publications including ArtReview, e-flux Architecture, frieze, Flash Art, the Harvard Design Magazine, and Mousse. In 2025, they are a Creative Capital Awardee, a Year 11 Member of NEW INC, and a resident at Cité internationale des arts in Paris. In 2024, they completed the Collide residency at CERN/Copenhagen Contemporary. Bucknell received a MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. They are currently faculty at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, where they teach courses on worlding, gaming, and philosophies of technology.