Uranium Film Festival 2018 in Albuquerque

Uranium Film Festival 2018 in Albuquerque - Foto Suchanek

ALBUQUERQUE, Guild Cinema        

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6th, 6:30 pm - Entry Free !

DII’GO TO BAAHAANE: FOUR STORIES ABOUT WATER

USA, 2012, 37 minutes, produced by Deborah Begel. Co-Directed by Deborah Begel and David Lindblom, Navajo with English subtitles.

This documentary is a four part meditation on the Navajo people’s problems with contaminated drinking water. Nearly one out of three people in the Navajo Nation struggle with this issue. Four Stories About Water opens with a waterfall of people who reveal the scope of water contamination problems on Navajo lands, from the health problems that were likely caused by uranium tailings left uncovered to the view of water as “a spiritual element” to the fact that 30% of the Navajo people don’t have access to safe water.

Tale of a Toxic Nation 

USA, 2018, Director Louis Berry, Documentary, English, 13 min

Tale of a Toxic Nation is the story of a nation rich in resources but weak in political influence. The Navajo Reservation has been left with over 500 abandoned uranium mines, toxic surroundings and an impossible clean up. The story has never been more relevant under an administration threatening to restart uranium mining in the area. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/258337365

Too Precious to Mine  

USA, 2017, Director Justin Clifton, Documentary, English, 10 min

The Havasupai Tribe depends on the blue-green waters that emerge in the Grand Canyon for drinking water. But now, uranium mining on the canyon’s rims threatens the tribe’s existence and its way of life. A 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims around the Grand Canyon is at risk of being overturned by the Trump administration. The Grand Canyon is an irreplaceable natural treasure that draws over 5.5 million visitors to the park each year. Yet, irresponsibly operated uranium mines located on federal public land just miles from the North and South Rims threaten to permanently pollute the Grand Canyon landscape and the greater Colorado River.  „The Grand Canyon is the last place on Earth we should mine uranium.“ Trailer: https://vimeo.com/241576331 

Panel discussion

8:30 pm - Filmmaker Shri Prakash presents his film.

Nabikei (FOOTSTEP)                                  

India, 2017, Documentary, Director Shri Prakash, English, 55 min

The American Southwest - especially the sovereign Indigenous nations of Acoma, Laguna and the Diné or Navajo Nation - have a long history of uranium mining. Once home to a booming economy and proudly called the Uranium Capital of the World, these Indian reservations and poor White communities are now littered with old mines, tailings dams, and other uranium contamination, which is the legacy of this deadly industry.  Contaminated land, water, and air have left these poor communities helpless. And new mining companies continue to disregard the health and environment of these people with the lure of a better economy, jobs and new In Situ Leach uranium mining methods. Unfortunately, this is the same sad story repeated in other parts of the world including India, but in India it is the government itself undertaking the enterprise and repeating the same degradation in Jadugoda (Jharkhand).

Q&A with filmmaker Shri Prakash

Contact
Multicultural Alliance 
for a Safe Environment
Susan Gordon
sgordon@swuraniumimpacts.org
505-577-8438
www.swuraniumimpacts.org
 
International Uranium Film Festival
Norbert G. Suchanek
info@uraniumfilmfestival.org
www.uraniumfilmfestival.org