Filmmaker Scheduled to Appear
Care Not Cages, Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Series
Named one of the best films of 2019, The Hottest August is a film about climate change disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety. Q&A with the filmmaker to follow!
A complex portrait of a city and its inhabitants, The Hottest August gives us a window into the collective consciousness of the present. The film’s point of departure is one city over one month: New York City, including its outer boroughs, during August 2017. It’s a month heavy with the tension of a new president, growing anxiety over everything from rising rents to marching white nationalists, and unrelenting news of either wildfires or hurricanes on every coast. The film pivots on the question of futurity: what does the future look like from where we are standing? And what if we are not all standing in the same place? The Hottest August offers a mirror onto a society on the verge of catastrophe, registering the anxieties, distractions, and survival strategies that preoccupy ordinary lives. Named one of the best films of 2019 by Rolling Stone, Variety, IndieWire, Vulture, Vox, Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, BFI Sight & Sound, and more. [94 min; documentary; English]
A Q&A with filmmaker Brett Story and Dr. Joshua Malitsky, Director of IU’s Center for Documentary Research and Practice, will follow the screening.
“A cinematic gift, an intellectual challenge, an emotional adventure” — New York Times, Critic’s Pick
“Stunning” — Vanity Fair
"A brilliant puzzle-mosaic ... a revelation” — Variety, Critic’s Pick
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
