Austrian filmmaker Lukas Marxt has completed a new experimental documentary centered on the Los Angeles wildfires that occurred earlier this year. Titled >1.5°C: Pyropolitics and the New World, the film takes a distinct approach to the subject matter, utilizing extended observational scenes and steady camera positions rather than the rapid-fire news coverage that dominated media coverage during the events.
Marxt was in California at the time the fires began, having spent over seven years conducting work near the Salton Sea region. He initially hesitated to film the unfolding disaster, concerned about interfering with emergency response efforts. However, after speaking with affected residents and recognizing the historical significance of the events, he and cinematographer Carson Davis Brown decided to document what was occurring while maintaining a careful distance from those assisting in the crisis. The resulting film eschews traditional documentary elements such as narration, interviews, or commentary, instead opening with a philosophical quotation about pyropolitics—the geopolitical and political dimensions of fire—as framing for the visual and audio experience.
The film’s title references the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature threshold established in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, an international accord aimed at limiting warming relative to pre-industrial levels. Marxt notes significant awareness gaps regarding this agreement, particularly between American and European audiences. The documentary will premiere on October 27 at the German documentary festival DOK Leipzig, followed by screenings at Austria’s Viennale and IDFA in Amsterdam.
Marxt emphasizes that the film invites viewers to contemplate broader questions about how human activity shapes the environment. He observes that wildfires are occurring with increasing frequency worldwide, affecting regions including France and the Iberian Peninsula, and that warning signs from previous fire seasons were often disregarded. The filmmaker hopes the work will encourage deeper engagement with the underlying causes and systemic factors contributing to these disasters, framing the documentary as a potential starting point for public dialogue on environmental and climate matters.
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