Feature documentary, 2010–11
After the Apocalypse
It started asThe legacy of Soviet nuclear testing in Kazakhstan: a well-told story.
I foundOn the former test site, a woman is determined to have a child. Her doctor is determined to stop her.
Director and cinematographer
- Wellcome Collection cinema release award
- World premiere, Sheffield Doc/Fest, 2010
- Hot Docs, Toronto, 2011
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The legacy of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan was a well-told story. I wanted to know how the people living there coped with the stigma.
Bibigul, born with facial deformities on the test site, is pregnant. The head of the city’s maternity clinic has seen too many disabled children abandoned in orphanages by ashamed parents, and he is piloting a “genetic passport” to stop it happening again.
As her pregnancy unfolds, Soviet insiders reveal how the USSR deliberately exposed villagers to the blasts, to learn what nuclear weapons would do to a population over the long term.
I spent a year living in communities on the former test site. The familiar subject became a question about medical authority and who gets to have children.
“One of the most important and valuable films of the year”
“Devastating”
“Compelling and indelibly disturbing”
“Impressive and disturbing”
Also four stars from the Financial Times and The Telegraph.
Plan your next film.
What is the story
inside your subject?
Bring the issue or the programme. I’ll find the way in.