A New Inferno

Overview

"A New Inferno" is a vérité short documentary set during Phoenix’s historically hottest month, July, when record-breaking heat turns deadly, especially for the unhoused. In 2024, 608 people in Maricopa County died from heat-related illness, representing a staggering increase over the past decade. The film follows the crew at Arizona’s busiest firehouse, as they race to save heatstroke victims using a radical new treatment. Against the backdrop of rising global temperatures, urban heat islands, and under-resourced services, Phoenix has become a climate canary. "A New Inferno" offers a visceral, street-level view of the climate crisis as it unfolds in one of the hottest major cities on Earth.