Heat transfer in falling liquid film systems is enhanced by waviness. Comprehension of the underlying kinetic phenomena requires experimental data of the temperature field with high spatiotemporal resolution. Therefore a non-invasive measuring method based on luminescence indicators is developed. It is used to determine the temperature distribution and the local film thickness simultaneously. First results are presented for the temperature distribution measurement in a laminar-wavy water film with a liquid side Reynolds number of 126 flowing down a heated plane with an inclination angle of 2 degrees. The measured temperature distributions are used to calculate the local heat transfer coefficient and the convective heat flux perpendicular to the wall for different points in the development of a solitary wave. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.