BBFF2025 Meet the Filmmaker: Benedikt Just
The Heart Revolution
Few films ask us to rethink something as fundamental as the human heart. The Heart Revolution blends science, philosophy, and poetic imagery to challenge long-held assumptions and open a conversation about what truly drives us as human beings. At its core is director Benedikt Just, whose own journey from physics and sound design to filmmaking has been shaped by a lifelong search for meaning.
What was the journey that led you to make this film?
It was a slow and winding journey that took me from being 13 years old, wanting to become a theoretical physicist and decode the deepest mystery of life, to realizing the importance of the heart and wanting to make a poetic science documentary about it. In the past 30 years, I explored an unusual paradigm for human flourishing and gathered experiences and insights that finally led me to see that the heart - and our emotions - are literally the key to everything in this life and beyond.
Do you have a background in film?
No. Although my father worked in the film industry, and I worked as a sound designer for over a decade, I first had to leave all of this behind, and only then return and direct my debut film at age 42. It was the longing to do something meaningful with my life that led me to produce this film.
What sparked the idea for The Heart Revolution?
Our film explores why we have a heart. Is it merely pumping blood as we've been told for the last 300 years, or is there more to it? Spoiler alert: our heart is so much more than we think. The spark that initiated our production was a medical doctor who was outspoken about how silly it is to think the heart would pump blood.
What do you hope audiences take away?
We hope our film inspires a new vision for what it means to be human, and we hope that our film helps give birth to a movement, or motion, that brings the practical approaches to a heart life into the world. I hope viewers will feel childlike wonder when they see and realize how their heart is much more than they thought.
We don’t listen to our hearts enough. We all “know” this voice, but mostly in retrospect, we realize that it talked to us. The heart speaks a language without words, and unfortunately, nearly all of us have forgotten this language. And as this language is not taught in schools, it is very hard to learn it for yourself. I hope this will change soon, as I can’t see how this world will become a healthier place without us remembering and utilizing the beauty and power of our hearts.
What challenges did you face in making the film, and how did you overcome them?
The list of challenges and things that went “wrong” is endless. If I had known that it would take 7 years to finish the film and all that I had to go through, I might have never started it. The first things that went wrong sent me into an “everything is lost” spiral for a week, the second for days, the third for hours. Now I already expect most plans to “go wrong.” My goal is to be able to laugh about myself whenever things don’t pan out the way I plan them.
Tell us about your collaboration with your team.
We are a tiny team, mostly me and the co-producer and editor, Alexandra Wedenig. After 7 years of working together, I am still baffled by how easy it is to collaborate. If you gave each one of us 20 hours of material with the goal to pick the best 20 minutes, we would end up with 17 minutes being the same. And discussions where we have different views are easy, relaxed, and each one realises when the other person has the “better” idea. I hope Alexandra and I will have the chance to make a few more films together.
Have you been to Byron Bay?
Sadly, I’ve never been to Byron Bay, but I’ve heard and read about it, and I would love to visit, as it feels like a place where my soul would feel at home. BBFF and the community around it feels like a beautiful fit for the themes and also style of our film.
THE HEART REVOLUTION WILL HAVE ITS AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE AT THE DRILL HALL THEATRE ON SATURDAY 18.