{"id":589646,"date":"2026-04-17T11:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T11:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/589646\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T11:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T11:25:11","slug":"heat-climate-change-doc-film-trailer-interview-visions-du-reel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/589646\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Heat’ Climate Change Doc Film Trailer, Interview: Visions du R\u00e9el"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe heat is on! Just watch the work of Swiss documentary filmmaker Jacqueline Z\u00fcnd (Where We Belong<\/a>,\u00a0Almost There,\u00a0Goodnight Nobody). <\/p>\n

\n\tShe premiered her fiction feature debut, Don\u2019t Let the Sun<\/a>, at the Locarno Film Festival last year, bringing us a near-future-set cinematic contemplation of how external factors, namely\u00a0climate change<\/a>, affect and shape our inner worlds. Now, Z\u00fcnd is getting ready to world premiere a film that dives into the same themes in a different, namely documentary, and very provocative form. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe new film, aptly called Heat, will debut at the 57th edition<\/a> of the Visions du R\u00e9el<\/a> (VdR) doc festival in Nyon, Switzerland, on April 20. It will screen in the international<\/a> feature film competition of the fest, which opens on Friday, April 17, and runs through April 26.<\/p>\n

\n\tFeaturing highly stylized imagery and sound to bring the heat to viewers in all its intensity, the doc is set in the Persian Gulf, \u201cone of the hottest regions in the world,\u201d with temperatures crossing the 50 degrees Celsius\/120 degrees Fahrenheit mark, and a place where \u201cthe heat becomes a force that shapes human existence,\u201d as the press notes highlight. \u201cThe film invites us to consider heat\u2019s impact on character, economic dynamics, and social inequalities. Heat melts layers to reveal what lies beneath the climate crisis, within human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by Louis Matar\u00e9 of Lomotion AG, in co-production with Real Film GmbH, Heat features cinematography by Nikolai von Graevenitz and was edited by Gion-Reto Killias. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Heat,\u2019 courtesy of Lomotion<\/p>\n

\n\tThe people we meet on screen include Sophy, a young Kenyan who works in an ice bar designed to provide chilly coldness for wealthy people in Dubai, and Essa in Kuwait, a meteorologist who struggles to sound the alarm on climate realities.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI want to translate heat visually without illustrating it, without falling for clich\u00e9d images; I\u2018m looking for a kind of cinematic Fata Morgana,\u201d Z\u00fcnd highlights in a director\u2019s statement. \u201cIs\u00a0this little black figure in the middle of the desert with a tree in his hand real or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHeat producer Matar\u00e9\u00a0lauds the filmmaker\u2019s approach for blending \u201csocietal relevance with a striking aesthetic,\u201d adding: \u201cHer protagonists bring emotional depth to themes of social inequality, highlighted through visually stunning contrasts. Heat incorporates techniques from Jacqueline\u2019s earlier films, such as structuring narratives around a single day and employing inner voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR can now exclusively premiere a trailer for Heat, which turns up, well, the heat. So, get ready for sand and sun, but without much fun! Is that a mirage? You tell us! This one may feel too hot to handle for some viewers, so watch with caution \u2013 before reading what Z\u00fcnd told THR about the documentary.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tYou painted a near-future picture for us of a world and its people affected by climate change in Don\u2019t Let the Sun, which premiered at Locarno last year. How much do you consider Heat its documentary sibling and how did the two films inspire each other? I think I recognized some visuals and ideas that connected both\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tTo me, the two films belong together; I see them as companion pieces. Quite early on in the development phase of my feature film Don\u2019t Let the Sun, the idea arose to create a documentary on the same topic. During my research, I read so many fascinating things that didn\u2019t find a place in the fiction \u2013 it felt like an invitation.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a wonderful experience to see how the two films enriched and inspired each other. I was able to translate some elements from the documentary into the fiction, but also vice versa. At times, it was startling to find certain details from the fiction reflected in real life.<\/p>\n

\n\tBoth films explore the impact of temperatures on the inner lives and relationships of people. While watching Heat, I was surprised by how the climate adds another division between the privileged and people who are struggling. What surprised you the most about what you found? And how early did you figure out that migrants are among the people struggling the most?<\/p>\n

\n\tHeat is like a magnifying glass, amplifying and intensifying character traits, moods, and emotions, but first and foremost, economic and social disparities. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt is striking to see the gap between the rich and the poor. Once the temperature reaches a certain point, those who can afford it no longer leave their homes; they live exclusively in air-conditioned environments, jog indoors, eat and socialize in malls, or have delivery drivers bring what they need right to their doorsteps.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Heat,\u2019 courtesy of Lomotion<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is primarily migrants \u2013 who are forced to work outdoors \u2013 who suffer from the heat. In the Arabian Gulf, many migrant workers die of heatstroke every year, but this is not something that is allowed to be discussed.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou didn\u2019t bring us a more traditional doc with sit-down interviews with experts and data charts but really brought the heat to the screen and through the screen and gave us a real\u00a0sensory experience. How did you think about and approach what you wanted to transport and the visual, audio and other styles you chose to achieve that?<\/p>\n

\n\tI was interested in heat as a state and a borderline experience. Since my first film, Goodnight Nobody, in which I dedicated myself to insomnia, I have been interested in making conditions cinematically tangible and experienceable.<\/p>\n

\n\tI wanted to translate heat visually, like a cinematic mirage. The film captures the vertigo, the loss of control, and the distortion of perception, making the heat physically tangible.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Heat,\u2019 courtesy of Lomotion<\/p>\n

\n\tWill you work on more climate-related films next or are you for now ready to dive into other topics?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I need a break now. I have other topics waiting for me to explore!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The heat is on! Just watch the work of Swiss documentary filmmaker Jacqueline Z\u00fcnd (Where We Belong,\u00a0Almost There,\u00a0Goodnight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[4253,88,2091,206,257570],"class_list":["post-589646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-climate-change","tag-entertainment","tag-international","tag-movies","tag-visions-du-reel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}