nuclear-news

Atomic Mom” documentary

there was so much secrecy about everything that happened, especially in terms of telling people in the United States about what happened

Atomic Mom” documentary fundraiser: Feb. 27, Oakland | Oakland Local Seven years in the making, Oakland filmmaker M.T. Silvia has nearly completed Atomic Mom, an understated rumination on the U.S. nuclear program during WWII examined largely through the experience of two women: Silvia’s mother, a biologist who studied the effects of radiation in Nevada for the Navy, and a Japanese woman who survived the attack on Hiroshima to become a peace activist.Silvia, with the help of a friend who manages Uptown Oakland’s Picán, will welcome film fans to Picán this Saturday, Feb. 27, for a benefit to raise money to complete the documentary.
The film started as a home movie, Silvia said, when her mother, Pauline Silvia, began to share stories about working as one of the few female biologists at the Nevada Test Site. Silvia was one of the only women scientists doing research on the effects of radiation from the atom bomb during the early 1950s, according to her daughter. She joined the Navy as a biologist and was assigned to the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco where she was sent to the Nevada Test Site and witnessed five of the 11 atomic detonations during “Operation Upshot-Knothole.”Silvia’s film includes Japanese testimony and information about the plight of U.S. veterans long after the war ended. Her mother’s grief extends to the research she performed on animals, and her interview is underscored by haunting images of lab notebooks describing radiation exposure tests on dogs.

In addition to contributions from Emiko Okada, whose mother died soon after the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, Silvia’s film includes Physicians for Social Responsibility founder Dr. Helen Caldicott, doctors who worked with radiation survivors and Silvia’s own narration and interpretation of the emotional journey.

“It’s an important story to tell. We’re all downwind of the story,” Silvia said. ………….“The parallel that’s so interesting is all the secrecy,” she said. “My mother and I never talked about it and Ms. Okada and her daughter never talked about it. It’s an effect of Cold War, there was so much secrecy about everything that happened, especially in terms of telling people in the United States about what happened on the ground in Hiroshima. To me it’s a lot about telling the truth and that it’s okay to look at that stuff.”……….

Atomic Mom benefit event
Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Picán Restaurant, 2295 Broadway @ 23rd St, Oakland, CA 94612
$25 cash at the door, includes food, no host bar

“Atomic Mom” documentary fundraiser: Feb. 27, Oakland | Oakland Local

February 25, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general