Dark Circle
What "Oppenheimer" Left Out
​
"Dark Circle" includes the first documentary footage of survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki shot by Americans. These stories, which are notably absent from "Oppenheimer," provide crucial information still so painful it is rarely faced. The links between nuclear power and weapons, denied by those who want nuclear power to be seen as clean and green, provide additional context. The film is as relevant today as it was when first released.
The SF Green Film Festival hosted the 40th Anniversary theatrical premiere of the re-mastered HD version at the 4 Star Theater in late October, with Q&As by the director and co-producer. (You can stream the film on Vimeo or AppleTV here.)
Winner of the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and a national Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in News & Documentary, Dark Circle follows the trail of plutonium from the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons facility in Colorado, to the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California, to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Plutonium, the most toxic substance in the world, links these locations and the people whose lives are irrevocably changed by it. 83 minutes, 16mm color, first released: 1983; revised: 1991; re-mastered at Fotokem in HD in 2018 with assistance from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; now distributed by First Run Features. For a BluRay please email films@pelicanmedia.org.
​
Produced and Directed by Judy Irving, Christopher Beaver, and Ruth Landy
​
​
National Emmy Award; Shortlist, Academy Award; Grand Prize, Non-Fiction, Sundance Film Festival
"Four stars ...completely riveting." —Roger Ebert
​
"You owe it to yourself to see this chilling documentary. A much needed warning sign
on a very dangerous road. Rated: A." —People Magazine
​
"Recommended" —Science Books and Films
​
"This is a great film. I saw it years ago on television and was very moved by it. Years later, I saw
'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,' by the same director (Judy Irving). Another excellent film.
It's a classic. Informative yet emotionally wrenching." —From a five-star Amazon review