The Umbra Mission
2025 Canada | Réalisé par Mathieu Baptista, Silvano Mercado, Tiphaine Roustang | Produit par Clim'Act 2 | French, English
Documentary 45 min | Immersive Experience 12 min
Licensing
Relive the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse from a completely unique perspective at 34 km altitude, from the stratosphere.
On April 8, 2024, a small team of Quebec artists, scientists, and filmmakers launched a module called “Dorothy” equipped with multiple 360° cameras into the stratosphere. They achieved the remarkable feat of capturing footage of the Moon’s shadow racing across the Mégantic region at over 4,000 km/h.
The result is a dreamlike journey to the edge of space, blending scientific storytelling, philosophy, and poetry for the whole family.
Breathtaking images of our planet from above and the shadow that envelops us create a collective moment of wonder and introspection—a brief pause in our lives, inviting us to reflect on our place in the universe and our relationship with our fragile home, planet Earth.
Mission Umbra is a 12-minute 360° short film, preceded by an exclusive 45-minute documentary in 16:9 format, retracing the adventure of this passionate team who took on a bold challenge—proving once again that with determination and a bit of ingenuity, anything is possible.
The Dorothy projet
The Dorothy Project is a nonprofit environmental documentary film project, founded by Mathieu Baptista in 2017 to explore and document the interconnectedness of Earth’s natural events from the stratosphere. We are a team of creatives and science enthusiast dedicated to revealing the beauty and fragility of our planet through high-altitude balloon missions. Our work spans immersive virtual reality experiences, environmental documentaries, and scientific research.Inspired by nature, informed by scientific exploration, and driven by the urgency of environmental conservation, we aim to deepen humanity’s connection to Earth. Through virtual reality experiences, we try to trigger the “overview effect” on viewers and aim to poetically awaken their ecological awareness and encourage reflection on our place in the universe.
Credit
DIRECTION AND MONTAGE
Tiphaine Roustang
COLORIZATION
Martin Gros
TRANSLATION AND SUBTITLING
Liseca D. Michel
BASED ON AN IDEA BY
Mathieu Baptista
ADDITIONAL IMAGES
Kes Tagney
Martin Gros
ARCHIVES
The Pale Blue Dot,
Carl Sagan
Library of congress : The seth macfarlane collections of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive
The planetary Society
MUSIC
Silvano Mercado Viches
MONTAGE AND MIXING
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Thomas Hirsch
COLOR GRADING
Martin Gros
MUSICSpace Documentary
Trickytwoaudio
Documentary
Eliansproductions
For Documentary
Korolkov
Memento
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Meadow
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Harvest
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Little Shepard
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Little Jam With Myself
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Lovuuku
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Shookalubu
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Essenza
Silvano Mercado Vilches
What Lies In The Shadow
Silvano Mercado Vilches
I See Myself In The Light
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Continuum
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Molecola Assente
Silvano Mercado Vilches
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSTEAM AMERICA : Julie Hamilton, Maïa Bélanger, Ségolène Marcel
Adèle Comet • Alexandre Juneau • Andrew Bruhelius • Antonin Gaud • Arno Robin • Carl Kouri • Cedric Chabuel • Chad Carrière • Chantal Deraille • Charles James • Charles « Papa Michel » • Chez Adrien et Manon • Clara Chombart • Daniel Pelchat & Annick Bédard • Denis & Thierry de Miel Pellerin • Diane Martin Graser • Douglas Buck • David Heilbroner & Kate Davis • Emilien Lazaron • Ferme Lait Sanglier des Bois • François Bujold • François Guinaudeau • Fred Trétout • Guillaume Lombart • Harrison Nir • Hugo Menchi • Jean-Philippe Dionne • Jimmy Le Suisse • Joël Delphin • Jonah Ryan-Davis • El Juju • Julien Fonfrède • J.P Desjardins & Jeremy Mechaly • La Ferme dans l'Vent • Loïc Quesnel • Lucas Abouchaar • Maxime Pivin-Lapointe • Mourad Bennacer • Morgane Gigoux • Olivier Hernandez • Les Macronautes • Louka Gasarian • Naturessence • Neyla Allouani • Nicolas Delffon • Nina Anton • Ova Ébénisterie • Pascal de St Adrien • Patricia Alger • Pepito • Phil Rochefort • Sebastien Atoch • Simon Gasarian • Symoune • Tangui Picart • The Planetary Society • Walrus Tech • Zenab Jaber La Météo • Les donateurs anonymes de la soirée Insomnia • Le gars qui nous a sorti de la neige • Les éventuels oubliés
Un immense merci à Caroline Aquin pour son soutien précieux
Merci aux 202 contributeurs
Mathieu Baptista
Director
Mathieu Baptista, after studying science and fine arts, founded the association “Les Jeunes Pouss” with the aim of supporting local artists at the start of their careers. He then ventured into film, becoming a special effects makeup artist and working with renowned professionals. In 2011, he moved to Canada, and later joined Weta Workshop in New Zealand, contributing to productions such as Avatar and Ghost In The Shell. In 2017, he launched “The Dorothy Project,” combining art and science. In 2024, he directed his first virtual reality short film, Mission Umbra, and in 2025, his project was selected by the Canadian Space Agency.
Tiphaine Roustang
Director and Editor
Tiphaine Roustang, originally from France, studied film at ESRA Paris before continuing her education in New York, where she worked for Livestream New York and specialized in multicam streaming. She later moved to Montreal to launch Livetoune, a music video production company. For over ten years, she has directed and edited hundreds of music videos, reports, and live performance recordings, working with artists such as Muse, Orelsan, and Stromae, and has accumulated nearly 1,500 productions. Now working independently, she continues to direct music videos, one of which won the Audience Award at the 2022 GAMIQ. She is also venturing into medium-length films and documentaries, with her first project for The Dorothy Project, which has become the focus of her future creative work.ibing your block.
Silvano Mercado Vilches
Composer
Silvano Mercado Vilches, a French-Chilean artist, began training at a young age at the Paris Conservatory. He released his first album in 2001 and has since specialized in music for visual media, composition, and sound design. Passionate about new technologies and DIY culture, he also explores sound installations. In 2017, he joined forces with Mathieu Baptista to develop the Dorothy Project and co-produced Mission Umbra in 2024, for which he created the soundtrack.