Helen Hughes explores ten different documentary films made in Europe and North America since 1989 that explore the atomic age: Volker Koepp’s Die Wismut, Suzan Baraza’s Uranium Drive-In, Toshi Fujiwara’s Mujin Chitai, Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Pripyat, Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, Peter Galison and Rob Moss’s Containment, Volker Sattel’s Unter Kontrolle, Ivy Meerapol’s Indian Point, Rob Stone’s Pandora’s Promise, Mika Taanila and Jussi Eerola’s Atomin Paluu, and Mark Cousin’s Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise.

In her coherent, accessible analysis of the representation of radioactive spaces in documentary and experimental art films, Hughes shows us how the documentary form itself can help reimagine the relationships between people and their environments.