A chase sequence with a bird of prey, comprising 1 minute and 20 seconds of the finished 80-minute film, was the result of 15 days of work.

[2][5][6] Heart of Oak premiered on 13 February 2022 at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it played in the Berlinale Special section.

[2] Greg Wetherall of Little White Lies likened the filmmaking technique to Viktor Kossakovsky's Aquarela (2018) and the films of Dziga Vertov, highlighting Heart of Oak's use of music, humour and portrayal of nature.

[1] In Le Figaro, Pierre De Boishue likened the tree to a hotel and said the film is reminiscent of Microcosmos (1996).

[2] Nicolas Schaller of L'Obs also compared it to Microcosmos and said Heart of Oak may educate small children about the cycles of nature, but is repetitive and might bore them instead.