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Radioactive Documentary

Filming the Nuclear Environment after the Cold War

Helen Hughes explores ten different documentary films made in Europe and North America since 1989 that explore the atomic age: Volker Koepp’s Die Wismut, Suzan Baraza’s Uranium Drive-In, Toshi Fujiwara’s Mujin Chitai, Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Pripyat, Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, Peter Galison and Rob Moss’s Containment, Volker Sattel’s Unter Kontrolle, Ivy Meerapol’s Indian Point, Rob Stone’s Pandora’s Promise, Mika Taanila and Jussi Eerola’s Atomin Paluu, and Mark Cousin’s Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise

In her coherent, accessible analysis of the representation of radioactive spaces in documentary and experimental art films, Hughes shows us how the documentary form itself can help reimagine the relationships between people and their environments.

168 pages | 6.69 x 9.61 | © 2021

Film Studies

Media Studies


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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction: radioactive documentaries and a homage to Erik Barnouw

Chapter 2: Radioactive past: Volker Koepp’s Die Wismut (1993, Germany) and Suzan Baraza’s Uranium Drive-In (2013, US)

Chapter 3: Radioactive present: Toshi Fujiwara’s Mujin Chitai (No Man’s Zone, 2012, Japan) and Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Pripyat (1999, Austria, Ukraine)

Chapter 4: Radioactive future: Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity (2010, Denmark) and Peter Gallison and Rob Moss’s Containment (2015, US)

Chapter 5: Radioactive past conditional: Volker Sattel’s Unter Kontrolle (Under Control, 2011, Germany) and Ivy Meerapol’s Indian Point (2015, US)

Chapter 6: Radioactive future conditional: Rob Stone’s Pandora’s Promise (2013, US) and Mika Taanila and Jussi Eerola’s Atomin Paluu (Return of the Atom, 2015, Finland)

Chapter 7: Conclusion: Radioactive continuous present: Mark Cousin’s Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise (2015, UK)

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