London Premiere Screening – After the Apocalypse

For a forty year period from 1949, the Soviet Union carried out an aggressive nuclear testing programme, using its own citizens as guinea pigs. In total, 456 bombs were dropped in an area known as ‘the polygon’ – now rural Kazakhstan. Rather than evacuate the area, the Soviet Union deliberately kept its villagers in place but completely in the dark about the dangerous after effects of invisible radiation.

As children swam in the lakes created by the bombs, and sheep continued to graze, a legion of Soviet scientists descended on the area to study the aftermath.

In this harrowing documentary, Anthony Butts gets to know victims, and interviews those whose lives have been shaped by this terrible scenario, as he explores the legacy of the bombing programme on the people, including the increasingly appalling birth defects born to each successive generation.

Directed by Antony Butts
2010
65 mins

"Terrifying" Daily Mirror

"Absolutely stunning, a poignant theme and powerful story that unfolds right before our eyes" BBC

"An amazing triumph" Sheffield Doc/Fest

"Five stars… I’m not sure that I have ever seen a film as horrific as this." Eyeforfilm