What’s it rated? Not rated
When? Monday, Aug. 12, at 5 p.m. (reserve a free ticket at eventbrite.com)
Where’s it showing? Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (2201 Lawson Ave.)
SLO Mothers for Peace hosts a screening of Silent Fallout on Monday, Aug. 12, and director Hideaki Ito will attend the three-hour event and screen his documentary revealing the untold story of the victims of nuclear testing here in America and around the world. The documentary is narrated by Alec Baldwin.
The film opens in 1951 and describes the U.S. testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada before quickly fast-forwarding to present day Salt Lake City, Utah, and former journalist Mary Dickson as she chronicles growing up in the ’50s and ’60s and the unusual illnesses and deaths of her elementary school classmates. Dickson believes the nuclear tests 2,000 miles away—thanks to prevailing winds that carried radiation into her community—were responsible.
During this same period in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Louise Reiss began collecting and studying baby teeth from other mothers in her community and discovered children there had also been exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation, particularly strontium-90. As her study expanded nationwide, her results held. Kids across the country had been exposed. It’s a devastating part of U.S. history.
Admission is free; however, Mothers for Peace encourages donations through its website (mothersforpeace.org/donate) or at the event. (76 min.)
This article appears in Education Today 2024.