The Temperature of the Universe (Viktor Sharimov) Russia |

The Temperature of the Universe
Viktor Sharimov
Russia. 2025. 93 min

Set in a remote picturesque Astronomy village, where scientists investigate the cosmos undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of the city, the story navigates the characters through a breakup to an unlikely romance. The film is a story of separation and reunion that unfolds in a remote astronomers’ village in the Caucasus (filmed in Nizhny Arkhyz, home to real-world observatories). The isolated, quiet setting allows the characters to reflect on life without the noise of the city, exploring themes on the boundary between science, human relationships, and the vastness of the cosmos.

VIKTOR SHARIMOV

I learned about the existence of this observatory and the village nearby it by chance. I found this geographical point of contact between space and the past to be remarkable; there aren’t many places like this in the world. And I thought that all human relationships deserved such an approach; it’s a good place from a metaphorical perspective. I sometimes watch genre films, but I don’t want to make them. The genre is boring because you know how it will end, it has its rules. Our film develops more like music than a conventional narrative. It’s a great thing that the producer Pasha Gorin could gather people willing to shoot my film. It’s a great thing that such people sometimes come along, and I can make films in a completely “wrong” way, because a script like this grows like a plant. One does not write it based on a formula or some structure.