We Are the Guinea Pigs

Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb

2016 · ★ 7.5

Documentary which follows the construction of a trailblazing 36,000-tonne steel structure to entomb the ruins of the nuclear power plant destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

After the Big One: Nuclear War on the Prairies

1982 · ★ 6.5

This film deals straightforwardly with the consequences of a nuclear attack for the Canadian Prairies due to their proximity to intercontinental ballistic missile sites in North Dakota. Scenes include a visit to a missile base and to an emergency government bunker in Manitoba. A doctor, a farmer and a civil defence coordinator provide different perspectives on nuclear war. Although focused on one region, the film provides a model for people everywhere who would like to know more about their own situation but don't know what questions to ask.

44 Pages

2018 · ★ 6.3

A portrait of Highlights Magazine following the creation of the cultural phenomenon's 70th Anniversary issue, from the first editorial meeting to its arrival in homes, and introducing the quirky people who passionately produce the monthly publication for "the world's most important people,"...children. Along the way, a rich and tragic history is revealed, the state of childhood, technology, and education is explored, and the future of print media is questioned.

NUKED

2023 · ★ 7.5

The US detonated 67 nuclear weapons over the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the Cold War, the consequences of which still reverberate down four generations to today. "NUKED," is a timely new feature documentary focussing on the human victims of the nuclear arms race, tracing the displaced Bikinian's ongoing struggle for justice and survival even as climate change poses a new existential threat. Using carefully restored archival footage to resurrect contemporaneous islanders’ voices and juxtaposing these with the full, awesome fury of the nuclear detonations, NUKED starkly contrasts the official record with the lived experience of the Bikinians themselves, serving as an important counterpoint to this summer’s Oppenheimer.

The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout

2024 · ★ 5.3

The story of one of the great environmental disasters to befall the United States, and the terrible movie that helped bring the catastrophe to light.

The Dairy Farmer

2023

An observational documentary that follows dairy farmer Sophie Gregory at Home Farm.

Windscale 1957: The Nuclear Winter

1996

In October 1957, one of the Windscale nuclear reactors caught fire. It was the world's first nuclear accident, attributed to the rush to build atomic weapons. This programme highlights the mistakes leading to a nuclear event which, 40 years on, still takes second place only to Chernobyl.

Ways of Knowing: A Navajo Nuclear History

2025

The American Southwest holds a dark legacy as the place where nuclear weapons were invented and built. Navajo people have long held this place sacred, and continue to fight for a future that transcends historical trauma. This is their story.

American Teenager

A young woman reflects on her high school drug addiction on a weekend trip to her hometown in Pennsylvania where it took place.

Nuclear Power Reactor - Pickering

1973

East of Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario, is the Pickering Generating Station, one of the world's largest nuclear power stations. Here it is used to explain how a nuclear power station works, showing the fuel bundles, calandria, fuelling machines, boilers, control room, turbine-generator and spent fuel bay. Part of the multimedia kit The Energy Crisis?. Produced by the NFB for Energy, Mines and Resources Canada.

The Power of Matter

1960 · ★ 7

A two-part study of nuclear power with Larry Henderson, skilled observer, analyst and commentator on public affairs as guide. Part 1 shows civilian applications outside Canada. Part 2 shows the history of atomic energy development in Canada, from the outset of World War II to the installations at Chalk River.

Reconstruction of the NRX Reactor 1970

1973 · ★ 8

This film shows the exacting procedures used during the 1970 replacement of the calandria in the NRX nuclear reactor at Chalk River. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.