Nuclear Nation
Documentary film, Japan 2012, Funahashi Atsushi, 145 min.
On 11th March 2011, Japan is rocked by an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale. Shortly afterwards a huge tsunami destroys vast sections of the Japanese coast. One day later the first block of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima explodes. The surrounding area is covered with radioactive fallout. The remaining 1,400 inhabitants of the neighbouring town of Futaba are evacuated and resettled in a former school in Tokyo. They have been living there ever since and are struggling to cope with the situation. Most families are clearly suffering from the loss of their relatives and their hometown, which will remain a nuclear-contaminated zone for a long time. Even the mayor – a former passionate advocate of nuclear energy – is assailed by doubts in view of the human suffering and evident uncontrollability of this technology.
NUCLEAR NATION devotes much time and commitment to its protagonists whose existence is defined by loss and starting anew. The film achieves an exceptional closeness to the people. Simply by observing them it gains its force as an indictment against a technology that even one of the most highly developed industrial nations could not control.
Distribution
Wide House
Anaïs Clanet
ac@widemanagement.com
