Human emotions are nowadays the most neglected aspect of climate crisis. A group of people with climate depression begin a therapeutic process, which will guide them to understanding their own feelings and open them up to dialogue with others.

We are the climate crisis. We’re living in the middle of it. This is what shapes us,” says Zbyszek, opening a therapeutic workshop for ten strangers. People from different walks of life have been invited by the film’s director to process mourning for the lost world and seek consolation together. The workshop becomes a space to share grief, helplessness, fear for the future, anger, and hope.

Set in the intimate landscapes of Lower Silesia, the process unfolds over several months. We follow the participants and what they bring to the circle: Michał, the director, speaks of his brother’s suicide; Ania, a singer, of her hopelessness; Zosia, a teenage activist, of her anger; Wojtek, a miner, defends the meaning of his work; Daniel worries about a drying river; Agata, a lawyer fighting for the Oder River, seeks rest from activism; and Robert confronts his past and trauma.

The film reveals its experimental nature as it shifts from observation to poetic sequences taking us to a drying lake, underground caves, mountains, and the vanished riverbed.

In psychotherapy, a “hot spot” marks the moment before change — when emotions surge, leading to conflict or breakthrough. Hot Spot. A Docutherapy is a film about the climate crisis through the lens of human emotions and the ways of coping with them and the struggle to communicate in a polarized world. For the future, which concerns all of us, is the challenge we all share.