Above the Rhineland’s vast lignite mining district, billowing pillars from power plants rise to reshape the atmosphere, producing clouds that are entirely, unmistakably human-made. In The Cloud Factory, filmmaker Hannes Lang trains his camera skyward with a patient, unblinking attention. The residents living beneath this artificial skyscape speak to the strange reality of inhabiting an unnatural world, one created by industry. Their viewpoints range from skeptical to hopeful and reveal something more than simple debate: a collective reckoning with what it means to call a place home. KL