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2025 Uranium Film Festival announces Award Winners in Rio / 14th International Uranium Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro at the Modern Art Museum Cinematheque Final 

Rio de Janeiro - Saturday, May 31, 2025, happened two global finals at the same time. The UEFA Champions League final in Munich and the final of the 14th Rio de Janeiro International Uranium Film Festival at the Cinematheque of the Modern Art Museum (MAM Rio).

„When we had selected the dates for the 2025 International Uranium Film Festival Rio de Janeiro one year ago we were not aware of that coincidence and even less aware that the Champions League finalist will be from France and from Italy, PSG and Inter Milano. For that it was understandable that most of the soccer (football) enthusiastic Cariocas preferred to sit in front of their television screens instead of coming to the Uranium Film Festival“, says festival’s executive director Márcia Gomes de Oliveira (Top photo by Fernando Alvim). 

Nevertheless, the film fest that focused this year on commemorating 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki at the Modern Art Museum Cinematheque had a remarkable crowd, including Rio de Janeiro's Deputy Consul General for Germany, Joachim Schemel.

In Munich the winner was PSG who won the Champions League for the first time ever in historic fashion. In Rio de Janeiro the great winner was Nagasaki.

US director Greg Mitchell won the Uranium Film Festival Award for Best Documentary Feature Film for „The Atomic Bowl: Football at Ground Zero - and Nuclear Peril Today“, a revelation of Nagasaki's place in history. And the US directors Judy Irving and Christopher Beaver received for „Nagasaki Journey (Digitally Restored Version)“ the festival’s Memory Award for the restoration of a powerful historical documentary film that connects todays young generation with the suffering of the young atomic bomb victims of Nagasaki. The screening of "The Atomic Bowl" and the Digitally Restored Version of Nagasaki Journey in Rio de Janeiro were world premieres.

„Both films help us and future generations to never forget the meaning of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki“, adds festival director Márcia Gomes de Oliveira.

„I am thrilled, and proud, that my new film received its premiere tonight here in Rio, for I believe that the International Uranium Film Festival is one of the best, and most important, festivals in the entire world“ said filmmaker Greg Mitchell from New York in his acceptance speech. „My journey in making these films and writing books began over forty years ago when I spent a month in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I interviewed dozens of survivors of the atomic bombings - and they are the ones who have inspired my work ever since—along with, sadly, the escalating threat of another nuclear attack. So thank you again for shining your spotlight on them - and on the need to take action today to reduce nuclear dangers.“

Judy Irving and Christopher Beaver said: „We accept the Memory award with gratitude on behalf of the people who appear in our film: Sumiteru Taniguchi, Victor Tolley and Itsuko Okubo, whose voices and testimony continue to be heard and reverberate beyond the time of their passing. We are grateful to the Uranium Film Festival for keeping their voices present and alive for this generation and generations to come. The continuing question raised in our film is whether Nagasaki will be remembered as only the second city to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon, or whether it will be the last.“

Italian filmmaker Camillo Sancisi received the Best Animation Award for „In Our Hands“. „I'm very happy to receive this award. I hope my short film can contribute to the Uranium Film Festival's mission of raising awareness about the dangers and ongoing relevance of nuclear weapons, especially in these times of rising tensions between nuclear powers and increasingly fragile leadership in the Western world“, said Camillo Sancisi. 

His compatriot Daniele Grosso won the Best Art Animation Award for „The View from the Plane“.  He said: “I knew that the theme of my film would have been a good fit for this special festival but I'm surprised and grateful for the prize. I hope it will be an occasion to rediscover the powerful words of the philosopher Günther Anders against nuclear weapons.“

"In our Hands" was screened at the opening of the festival on May 17, in the presence of the Italian Consul General, Massimiliano Iacchini.

The award for Best Investigative Documentary goes to the French film „The Polygon (Le Polygone, un secret d’État)“ by Cédric Picaud. „This is such great news! I feel honored and touched. Being part of the selection was already a victory for the film. But being awarded means a lot more. I am glad the story of this small village can reach people across the ocean. It feels like magic“, said French filmmaker Cédric Picaud.

Tokyo-based British filmmaker Arif Khan received the award for Best Immersive VR Documentary for „Address Unknown: Fukushima Now“.  Arif Khan: „It's such wonderful news and we couldn't be more thrilled. It's a true honour & privilege for us to receive the Award from the Uranium Film Festival. This project has been a labour of love for all involved and this recognition means the world to us. We'd like to give our gratitude to the Uranium Film Festival for providing us the platform to share this project at such an important event that focuses on nuclear energy and the impact it has in both history and today. And of course, our most sincere thanks to the Fukushima locals who opened up their hearts and homes to bring this story to life." 

In addition Arif Khan received also the festival's "Samuel Lawrence Foundation Award for Best Emerging Filmmaker.“, which is accompanied by a $1,000 cash prize donated by the Samuel Lawrence Foundation (SLF).

Last but not least: German filmmaker Patrik Thomas who came form Munich to the festival in Rio won the Award for Best Fiction Short Film for „Taiwaste (Taiwan's Nuclear Waste)“. A brilliant film that in a smiling manor brings the audience face-to-face with the still-unresolved global question of `What to do with or how to get rid of Nuclear Waste?´ (Photo by Nobert Suchanek)

The Deputy Consul General for Germany, Joachim Schemel, presented Patrik Thomas with the festival trophy at the MAM Rio Cinematheque. 

„I am deeply grateful for the award for my film TAIWASTE as best short film at the International Uranium Film Festival. Nuclear waste is one of the most pressing and at the same time least visible challenges of our time – an issue that transcends national borders, generations, and political cycles. With TAIWASTE, I wanted to help bring this global blind spot into public awareness. The decision to use a hybrid format combining fiction and documentary, as well as the fictional idea of a decentralized nuclear waste storage facility, was deliberately provocative—not as a solution, but as an invitation to confront the absurdity and moral gravity of nuclear waste in a world searching for sustainable answers“, said Patrik Thomas in his acceptance speech.

Patrik: „The personal presentation of the award by German Consul Joachim Schemel was a special moment that underscored the international relevance of the festival. My special thanks go to the Uranium Film Festival and its directors Márcia & Norbert for their many years of unwavering work on this important platform. I would also like to thank the artist Getúlio Damado, whose trophy made from recycled materials is a powerful reminder that we don't have much time left. Participating in the festival in Rio was not only an artistic honor, but also a creative impulse: it inspired me to further deepen my research on nuclear power in Brazil and Germany. The perspectives of both countries on this issue could hardly be more different — and that is precisely where an exciting and necessary dialogue lies.“

Dance performance remembering atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

In addition to the film screenings a dance performance, coreographed for the Uranium Film Festival, also commemorated the atomic bombings. In front of an audience of over 200 people, 26 students from the Technical Dance Course at the Adolpho Bloch Faetec State Technical School presented a dance performance at the Modern Art Museum (MAM Rio) to remember 80 years of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in solidarity with the atomic bomb survivers (Hibakusha). (Photos by Norbert Suchanek)

All the best from Rio!

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