Index:Trace

Director: Cynthia Madansky
Work in Progress
16 mm / Video ◊ 240 min

Index:Trace is a portrait of the ecological impacts of the entire Nuclear Industrial Complex across all 50 United States told by Indigenous Peoples, affected community members and their allies who are working for environmental justice and nuclear abolition. The film is a cinematic tour of the sprawling American nuclear landscape from uranium mines and mills, to nuclear fuel production facilities, the nuclear weapons complex, nuclear power plants and radioactive waste storage sites.

Index:Trace presents an opportunity to hear from diverse people across the United States who speak about where we are today, and the ongoing radioactive impacts of the entire nuclear trajectory. It is a film that breaks the silence and state of secrecy that has been so integral to the Nuclear Age from the start of the Manhattan Project.

Index:Trace looks at the facts on the ground as told by people challenging the Nuclear Industrial Complex, and the systemic cultural and geographic displacement that has created zones of sacrifice. The film addresses issues of environmental injustice and the risks and impacts of the climate crisis at each nuclear site. It offers an urgent analysis on local and national concerns regarding radioactive waste management, and discussions about nuclear guardianship, an ethical approach to responsibly care for the radioactive legacy we are bequeathing to future generations.