Heavy Water

A film for Chernobyl
Directed by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky
Poetry by Mario Petrucci
Video | 16:9 | 52 minutes
DVD available from Seventh Art Productions

On April 26th, 1986, reactor four at Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes, sending an enormous radioactive cloud over Northern Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus. The danger is kept a secret from the rest of the world and the nearby population who go about their business as usual. May Day celebrations begin, children play and the residents of Pripyat marvel at the spectacular fire raging at the reactor. After three days, an area the size of England becomes contaminated with radioactive dust, creating a ‘zone’ of poisoned land.

Produced by Seventh Art Productions and based on Mario Petrucci’s award-winning book-length poem, Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl tells the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, the soldiers, the ‘liquidators’, and their families.

Poetry read by David Bickerstaff, Francine Brody, Juliet Stevenson, David Threlfall and Samuel West.

List of screenings
FIFA (Festival International du Film sur L'Art), Montreal, Canada
Yilan Green International Film Festival, Korea
Ourense International Film Festival, Spain
Detroit Docs International Film Festival
Electric Mind Festival, Poznan, Poland
Sky Arts Channel
Tate Modern, Starr Auditorium - Q&A with Tim Marlow
Laznia - Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland