Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 14, 2023

Slamdance Film Festival 2023 -- 'Downwind' Western Shoshone Battle Nuclear Testing



DOWNWIND DOCUMENTARY FILM: PANEL AND SCREENING AT SLAMDANCE

Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 1-23-2023 will see Indigenous perspectives of environmental racism that keep radiation exposure silent, a matter of "national security" as other Americans exploit vulnerabilities and contaminate Mother Earth. -- Ian Zabarte, Western Shoshone

Slamdance is the alternative to Sundance Film Festival

JANUARY 23, 2023

Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main Street, Park City, Utah
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM - Panel (Crescent Room)
5:30-7:30 PM - Screening of Downwind, followed by a Q&A (Ballroom)


Downwind Panel Focus:

Downwind is relevant today, global in context and deeply tied to the American West and beyond. The film exposes a tragic and largely forgotten chapter of United States history and the ongoing health consequences for Americans living downwind of 928 nuclear detonations in Nevada, including the Western Shoshone whose sacred land, by treaty, continues to be cordoned off as a nuclear test site.

For 40 years, large-scale atomic weapons obliterated the landscape and exposed people, the environment, livestock and agriculture across the country to deadly fallout. Despite a moratorium on testing, the Nevada Test Site remains operational with the possibility of resumed testing. This panel will address the current state of Downwinders, the hopeful expansion of compensation and the continued tenacity of heroic activists who won't be stopped in their pursuit of government accountability -- and humanitarian justice.

Panelists:

Mary Dickson, Claudia Peterson, Ian Zabarte (Principal Man of the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation of Indians), Scott Williams Nuclear Policy consultant from HEAL Utah. Plus Mark Shapiro and Douglas Brian Miller, co-directors of Downwind. Moderated by Lara Jones, host of Radioactive on KRCL Community Radio

Downwind Film Background:

Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Mercury, Nevada? The latter was the site for the testing of 928 nuclear weapons on American soil from 1951 to 1992. The fallout is still lethally impacting Americans today. Martin Sheen narrates this harrowing exposé of the United States’ disregard for everyone living… downwind. The film includes the Western Shoshone as well as survivors who lived downwind. It also features two-time Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and comedian Lewis Black. Here's an article that appeared in last week's Salt Lake Tribune. For more information on the documentary feature Downwind, the link to the website is here.

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