Documentary Australia Foundation

A Hard Rain

Synopsis

Australia sits on 40% of the world's known uranium supplies and is about to give the green light to an enormous expansion of mining. The Australian government is now committed to taking the country down the nuclear power road if re-elected later this year. The rationale used is that nuclear is the answer to climate change. The cynics say it is an opportunistic move to sell more uranium, become the world's toxic waste dump and a seen-to-be-doing-something answer to neglect of environmental concerns for a long time.

Having already made three major documentaries on the nuclear industry in the last three decades, the filmmaker David Bradbury examines the latest pro nuclear arguments in A Hard Rain that its clean, green, safe and cheap through all stages of the nuclear cycle –mining, milling, making nuclear power and storing the waste. He visited Britain, France, Japan, China and his native Australia to film this documentary.

Impact

Director's Statement:

The film will be used to galvanise opposition to Australia heading further down the nuclear route. Bradbury, with two Academy award nominations and five AFI awards to his credit, is no stranger to taking his docos on the road around Australia. He will use the same approach with this film.

Using a data base of contacts in communities and Australian cities as well as the alternative cinema outlets such as the Mercury Cinema in Adelaide and the FTI in Perth, Bradbury already has an enthusiastic 'in built' audience for his films. This network of people sending emails to Kim Dalton as the new head of ABC TV was instrumental last year in getting Bradbury's film Blowin' in the Wind bought for national broadcast.

Using a similar strategy for this film when it is finished will help to get it onto national public television in a climate where the public broadcasters (both SBS and ABC) are timid about commissioning controversial 'hot' political subjects for fear of offending their political masters and funders.

He is particularly keen to have a work-in-progress version of the film out in time to have a major influence at the Australian Labor Party's national conference in late April when they will consider overturning the three uranium mines policy.

The film will then seek distribution to the home dvd market and educational outlets with Bradbury self distributing via the net as well.