HEAT WAVE heralds the arrival of a very promising young writer-director to the international filmmaking stage. CIFF Maverick-Award nominee Jean-Jacques Jauffret’s intricately plotted, time-shifting and exceptionally well-acted feature film debut will keep you riveted until the final frame.

The interwoven and interconnected characters in his contemporary drama are freely based on events that took place one sweltering summer afternoon in a nondescript suburb of Marseilles. Amelie works as a cashier in a local supermarket, toiling away the summer hours when she’s unexpectedly visited by her lanky, dark-eyed boyfriend, Luigi. At the same time, Amelie’s mother prepares to head to the city for a mysterious appointment, while an elderly man goes about his daily routine, which includes shopping for groceries, straightening up his house – and cleaning his shotgun.