Radiophobia
â??a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of radiation"
A group of survivors return to Chernobylâ??s radioactive zone to reconcile their past with the ruins of the present. In the zone, we will also meet many of the zoneâ??s peculiar inhabitants.

â??Radiophobiaâ?? was presented at the 2006 Hollywood Awards. It has received many international awards such as the Best Documentary / Diane Seligman Award at the 9TH Brooklyn International Film Festival in New York; Best Documentary at the XXIII Bogotá IFF; Best Film, Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at the 2006 ECU European Independent FF in Paris; Audience Award at Documenta Madrid 2006; Film Excellency Award at the GFFS IFF in Seoul, Korea, besides being selected for many festivals around the world.

â??Radiophobiaâ?? has also been licensed to channels such as: National Geographic, History Channel, TVE (Spain), Aljazeera Intl., DR2 (Denmark), MTV3 (Finland), 1+1 (Ukraine), Planete, PTS Taiwan, TVR (National TV Romania) and DocuTV (Latin America & Spain).

SYNOPSIS

On April 26, 1986, a security test at Chernobyl's nuclear power station triggered the greatest civilian nuclear catastrophe in history. The explosion was not only loaded with radioactive isotopes, but multiple political, economic, environmental and social consequences that still continue affecting the region and the rest of the planet. Within the affected zone remains a witness, the city of Pripyat, which fights to survive in spite of the radiation, the fear, and forgetfulness.

Located only 3 kilometers of the power station, Pripyat was a modern city, erected to lodge the workers of Chernobyl, and eager to become a model city for the Soviet regime. But the same illusion that saw it be born, turned it into the ghost city that it is today. In June 2004, a group of survivors returned to recall their experience and a word notably arose from their memory: Radiophobia.

Radiophobia was the "smoke screen" that the government created to mask a problem that had escaped out of their hands. They blamed public opinion of fostering radiophobia, an unjustified psychosis more appropriate of traitors rather than good citizens. For example, cancer cases were initially diagnosed as radiophobia. Eventually, radiophobia backfired against those who invented it, unlocking a web of errors, lies and manipulations.

Almost twenty years later, much is still left from being solvedâ?¦ the destiny of the farmers who survive in the ruins, that of the surviving patients, and the future of the power plant which is still active today... problems that remain surrounded by uncertainties and false promises, enveloped in radiophobia. Solving them is of utmost importance for everyone, since the curtain of radiophobia keeps obscuring the true social and scientific consequences of the nuclear industry.

In the coming years, mankind will face a difficult dilemma: on the one hand, the Kyoto agreement and its demands; on the other hand, the increasing power needs of western societies and of the fast growing developing countries, will make it unlikely that renewable energies will be enough to satisfy that demand. 

In this scenario, a revitalized nuclear energy presents itself as the only possible solution.

But is there no other alternative to the nuclear energy? Why is there so much controversy over its true dangers? Why does the scientific community remain so divided? Why haven't we learned to confront the monster we created? What lessons have we learned from Chernobyl?

Mankind faces difficult decisions ahead. Frighteningly, mankind still basis its decision on the same kind of ignorance as twenty years ago.

In 2007, radiophobia does not exist. Officially, no one will be able to find the meaning of the word in a dictionaryâ?¦ Twenty years later, we still don't know the truth. Twenty years later we still suffer from radiophobia. 

NOTE: contains both English and Russian (no translations)