Uranium Film Festival

„What an event! Such a deep, meaningful, fulfilling experience at the International Uranium Film Festival!“ Libbe HaLevy

The International Uranium Film Festival in Window Rock ended with awards going to young Navajo / Dine filmmaker Deidra Peaches, to Brittany Prater from New York and to Shri Prakash from Ranchi in India.   

„International Uranium Film Festival - Window Rock: I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this experience is. The people, the information coming from the films, the heart, the tears, the ferocious will and kindness of the Navajo Nation's people, the conversations: And all this environment created by the astonishing films, each one a labor of love, conviction, heart, and caring. Power, heart, dignity, soul, and profound information“, says Nuclear Hotseat producer Libbe HaLevy from Los Angeles about the Uranium Film Festival in Window Rock that ended December 1st, 2018 in the Navajo Nation Museum. „I could not describe it better“, comments  Uranium Film Festival director Norbert G. Suchanek. „Our in the world unique film festival is not only about screening films, it is also about networking and making friends.“

From November 29th to December 1st the International Uranium Film Festival showed more than 20 films with the presence of filmmakers from Denmark, India and USA in the Navajo Nation Museum. A meaningful highlight of the festival was the performance of Navajo singer Radmilla Cody, a GRAMMY Nominee, multiple Native American Music Awards winner, 46th Miss Navajo Nation, one of NPR's 50 great voices and a Black History Maker Honoree (http://radmillacody.net/index.html). Radmilla Cody received the festival's Yellow Heart from festival director Márcia Gomes de Oliveira. 

Finally at the last day three awards were given: Filmmaker Brittany Prater received the Young Director Award of the Uranium Film Festival for here outstanding feature documentary „URANIUM DERBY“. The Young Indigenous Filmmaker Award was given to Deidra Peaches for her short documentary „Doodá Leetso - The Legacy of Navajo Nation Uranium Mining“. And filmmaker Shri Prakash from Ranchi in India received the International Uranium Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award: „for fighting the uranium industry for more than 20 years with his camera and for giving the voiceless uranium victims, the indigenous Adivasi people from Jadugoda a meaningful voice.“

The International Uranium Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro is dedicated to all films (movies, documentaries, animated films, image films, art, fiction and non-fiction) about any nuclear issue: uranium mining, nuclear power plants, nuclear accidents, atomic bombs, nuclear waste, radioactive risks: From Hiroshima to Fukushima. It is an annual and global film festival with traveling festivals in other countries and cities. The best and most important films of the year receive the festival Award or a Special Recognition. 

The Uranium Film Festival Award called Yellow Einstein is a piece of art created by Brazilian waste-material-artist Getúlio Damado, who lives and works in the famous artist quarter Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro. Getúlio uses waste material that he finds in the streets of Santa Teresa and old, broken watches to remember the first atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Watches in Hiroshima stopped exactly at 8:15 in the morning when the A-bomb exploded on August 6th, 1945. 

The festival continues in Southwest USA: 

ALBUQUERQUE - December 6th, Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave - 6.30 PM  -  GRANTS - December 7th, NM State University Campus, Martinez Hall, 1500 Third St, 7 PM  -  SANTA FE - December 9th, Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Ave, 7.30 PM  -  TUCSON -  December 12th, YWCA Tucson, Frances McClelland Community Center 525 N. Bonita Ave.6.30 PM