Jacqueline Zünd Explores Climate Inequality in ‘Heat,’ Premiering at Visions du Réel: ‘I Found Dystopia in Real Life’

Swiss filmmaker Jacqueline Zünd’s documentary “Heat” premiered in the main competition at Visions du Réel, Switzerland’s leading documentary festival, offering a stark exploration of climate inequality in the Persian Gulf region. The film captures how extreme heat, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, is reshaping daily life in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Egypt. Through intimate portrayals of individuals including a delivery driver working 12-hour shifts, a Kenyan woman employed in a Dubai ice lounge, and a real estate agent caring for stray cats, “Heat” reveals the growing divide between the wealthy, who can escape the heat in air-conditioned spaces, and the laborers who endure harsh conditions. The documentary emerged from Zünd’s parallel work on her fiction feature “Don’t Let the Sun,” which imagines societies adapting by living at night to avoid daytime heat. While researching the fiction film, Zünd encountered real-life stories and conditions that inspired her to document the lived experience of climate change in the region. She describes the film as a sensory experience rather than a scientific explanation, emphasizing the dystopian reality already unfolding as global warming intensifies. The meteorologist featured in the film encapsulates this sentiment, describing extreme heat as “like a death sentence.” Filming “Heat” posed significant challenges due to the extreme temperatures and restrictive filming environments, with companies often unwilling to cooperate and tight controls on access. Zünd and her minimal crew sometimes filmed without formal authorization, particularly when documenting the delivery driver’s living quarters, offering a rare glimpse into the hidden lives of those most affected by climate change. The film’s focus on personal stories highlights the broader social and economic inequalities exacerbated by climate change, underscoring the urgent need to address its human impact beyond environmental statistics.