A SERIES OF SHORT DOCUMENTARIES, ANIMATIONS AND STYLISED SHORT FILMS EXPLORING THE THORNY SUBJECT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY FROM A HOST OF SURPRISING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND OFTEN DEEPLY PERSONAL ANGLES.
DELVE BEHIND THE HEADLINES AND THE ARGUMENTS TO GET AN IN-DEPTH PICTURE OF THIS CONTENTIOUS POWER SOURCE – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE…
Nuclear power is one of those issues that most people are aware of but few really understand. At even the most basic level, it’s confusing. What actually is nuclear power? How does it work? And how is it different from fossil fuels?
More broadly, the politics of nuclear power are complex and contradictory. Once upon a time, nuclear was the wonder energy of the future – safe, clean, cheap and in limitless supply. Then it became a bogeyman, a source of grotesque cancers in Chernobyl and contentious leukaemia clusters round power stations like Sellafield. More recently it’s become the saviour of crises including climate change and over-reliance on foreign oil. It’s no wonder people are confused, and that’s before you even start talking about radioactive waste disposal, the threat of terrorism, Iran … and how much it’s all going to cost.
Films completed so far include three short documentaries (about uranium mining on Native American land, the decommissioning of a Scottish power plant, and the personal views of former energy minister Tony Benn) and animations about the history and science of the atom, and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Shorts planned include:
Quick Question – public figures answer quick fire questions on the nuclear issue
Roll Call – stylised run down of safety incidents at Sellafield
Energy shop – sketch looking at the economics of nuclear
La Vie Atomique – a day in the life of residents of Flamanville, home to one of France’s many nuclear facilities
Guardians – whistle-blowing security guards at American nuclear power plants
24.04.86 – the day of the world’s worst nuclear accident, at Chernobyl
Friends in High Places – animation exploring the links between the nuclear industry and politicians
Not a Place of Honour – animation of a post-nuclear landscape tens of thousands of years in the future.
WE WILL CARRY OUT SEPARATE FUNDING ROUNDS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL SHORTS
