A New Inferno, New York Times-Op Doc
Press for A New Inferno
A neW inferno
Documentary SHORT i 15 min i usa i 2023 i english i color
A Film by Nita Blum-Reddick & Jonathan Pickett
In partnership with Masa Films
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“We think the visceral yet sensitive filmmaking in ‘A New Inferno’ will help audiences better understand the consequences of extreme temperatures that are becoming more and more common” —Alexandra Garcia NYT OP-Docs Executive Producer
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 disenfranchised and unhoused. In 2024, 608 people in Maricopa County died from heat-related illness, representing a staggering tenfold increase over the past decade. The film follows the crew at Station 18, Arizona’s busiest firehouse, as they race to save heatstroke victims using a radical new treatment: ice immersion therapy. 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 — not in the future, but here and now, in one of the hottest major cities on Earth.
This film is supported in part by a Mountainfilm Commitment Grant & Herberger Institute Research Advancement Office, in collaboration with Principled Innovation.
