- Welcome to Independent Lens .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut .
Tonight on Independent Lens, we bring you a film
Variety Magazine calls
"a mesmerizing, meditative work of art"
in the documentary The Hottest August .
The film takes place over the time span of one month,
specifically August of 2017,
as New Yorkers were dealing with climate change
and the anxiety of an uncertain future.
This particular month in New York City
was an especially tense time
as its citizens were dealing with a polarizing new president,
rising rents, white nationalists marching through their streets,
and the day to day grind
of co-existing in the largest city in America.
With the Big Apple as her backdrop,
director Brett Story weaves her narrative
through the eyes of New Yorkers,
many of whom have a sense of impending doom
regarding their city and our country.
The documentarian offers a view of our society
that is much more fragile than many of us may think
and possibly on the verge of catastrophe
as she explores the anxieties and survival strategies
that many are forced to consider.
This is not the first time
Story's work has appeared on Independent Lens .
Her film The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
was broadcast on the show in 2017.
Story holds a PhD in geography
and she is the author of the book
Prison Land: Mapping Carceral Power Across Neoliberal America.
The Hottest August starts now
on PBS Wisconsin, your home for independent film.