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Pripyat

Nikolaus Geyrhalter
1999 Austria 100 minutes Russian; Ukrainian

The settlement of Pripyat is five kilometers from the Chernobyl power plant. Its population numbered 50,000 until 1986. Today, Pripyat is a heavily guarded and highly contaminated ghost town in the center of the radioactive zone, which extends from Ukraine deep into Belarus. The villages were evacuated for the most part. Whoever wants to penetrate the barbed-wire fence surrounding the zone needs special permits, and those who wish to leave are checked for radioactive contamination. The film tells of survival in an improvised microcosm in which nothing should be eaten or drunk, and where the dust should not be inhaled when stirred by the wind; however, as radioactivity cannot be detected by the human senses, virtually no one pays attention to these recommendations.

Production :
Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH
Distribution :
Andana Films
Editing :
Wolfgang Widerhofer
Sound :
Alexei Salov
Photography :
Nikolaus Geyrhalter

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