The Power of Matter(1960)

In April 1977, the small coastal town of Seabrook, New Hampshire became an international symbol in the battle over atomic energy. Concerned about the dangers of potential radioactive accidents, over 2,000 members of the Clamshell Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups, attempted to block construction of a nuclear power plant. 1,414 people were arrested in that civil disobedience protest and jailed en masse in National Guard armories for two weeks.

With unprecedented access to the nuclear industry in France, Russia, and the United States, Nuclear Now explores the possibility for the global community to overcome the challenges of climate change and energy poverty to reach a brighter future through the power of nuclear energy. Beneath our feet, Uranium atoms in the Earth’s crust hold incredibly concentrated energy. Science unlocked this energy in the mid-20th century, first for bombs and then to power submarines. The United States led the effort to generate electricity from this new source. Yet in the mid-20th century as societies began the transition to nuclear power and away from fossil fuels, a long-term PR campaign to scare the public began, funded in part by coal and oil interests.

Thirteen years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the government's plan to decommission the plant is at a crossroads. We take a close look at the efforts to secure Fukushima's future.

Ben Fogle spends a week living inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, gaining privileged access to the doomed Control Room 4 where the disaster first began to unfold.

This short documentary offers a look at Canada’s Chalk River Project in the late 1940s. While humanity pondered the ultimate threat or promise of atomic energy, Chalk River scientists worked on the first set of experiments that attempted to apply atomic energy to medical and biological uses. Inside the Atom examines this frontier of science and assesses its value in terms of human progress.

An initiative discusses a videotape in which a group of activists portrays themselves and their work against the "nuclear power mafia." After argumentatively and polemically confronting the economic and political power of the energy industry, the activists call for the shutdown of escalators to counteract people's electro-paralysis.

With a wealth of fantastic archive footage and a series of revealing interviews with those who had first-hand experience, filmmaker Vicki Lesley tells the turbulent story of the West’s love-hate relationship with a nuclear power over the past seventy years. Capturing both the tantalising promise and the repeated disappointments of this singular technology, the film reveals how the post-war, romantic fantasy of an Atom-powered future developed into the stormy, on-off relationship still playing out today. A tale of scientific passion and political intrigue all wrapped up in the packaging of a sentimental screen melodrama.

A comprehensive treatment of technical and engineering aspects of Canada's first large nuclear electric power plant at Douglas Point, Ontario. The film shows the design, machining and assembly of component parts, and the special properties of the materials that went into the construction, as well as some of the exhaustive tests that were made before the station went "on power." Produced for the NFB by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

An account of the building and bringing into operation of Canada's pioneer nuclear power plant - the Nuclear Power Demonstration Station (NPD), built in northern Ontario as a prototype for larger plants. The film explains the principle of nuclear fission. Produced by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Ontario Hydro and Canadian General Electric Company Limited.

Since the first film was made explaining the power of the atom, nuclear technology has made great advances. This film is an up-to-date account of the many areas of nuclear research and recent developments in Canada. It was filmed at the long-functioning atomic reactors at Chalk River and Rolphton, and at the latest and largest atomic power station at Pickering, as well as at laboratories across the land where experimentation is carried out in both pure and applied nuclear science. Produced for the NFB by Crawley Films Ltd. for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

An outstanding factor in the efficiency of the CANDU reactor employed in Canadian nuclear power stations is that its construction allows for refuelling while the plant remains in operation, with no necessity for periodic shut-downs. Filmed at the Pickering, Ontario, station, this film clearly illustrates the processes and the advantages of this Canadian feature. Cutaway models and animated drawings are used in the demonstration.

A narrated account of Atomic Energy of Canada's plan to construct permanent nuclear waste storage facilities in the geological formations of the Canadian Shield. Commissioned to Westminster Films Limited by the National Film Board for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment.