Two Canadian films are among the winners of the 15th International Uranium Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro 2026.

Documentary THE ATOMIC SCREEN" by Alain Vezina received the Best Documentary Feature Film Award, and the short fiction movie The Moth" by Michelle Derosier and Zoe Gordon received the Native Spirit Award.

The awards ceremony took place on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the Cinematheque of the renowned Museum of Modern Art (MAM Rio).

"For me the International Uranium Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the world, because it raises public awareness about the dangers of nuclear power", said  Alain Vezina in his acceptance speech. It is a festival that strives to change things for a safer world. Therefore I am deeply touched and honored by the Award given to me by the festival. For my team and myself this is the most significant recognition of our work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the jury and everyone involved in the Uranium Film Festival."

And Zoe Gordon said: "This year's Uranium Film Festival was very impactful for me. Our film was among many that showed the heavy burden carried by people and lands that are being used for atomic weapons and power creation, but still it was a celebration. I had a lot of fun and feel inspired, knowing I'm connected to artists around the world who care about these issues."

THE ATOMIC SCREEN

Canada, 2025, Director Alain Vezina, Producer Alain Vezina and Marc Plana, Documentary, 52 min -  If the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed that a single A-bomb could cause widespread devastation, the invention of thermonuclear weapons a few years later made it plausible that humanity would be wiped off the face of the planet. From the early 1950s to the present day, a whole series of films have revealed this anxiety.

THE MOTH

Canada, 2025, Directors and producers: Michelle Derosier, Zoe Gordon, Cast: Sarah McPherson, Fiction, Language: English, Ojibwe, 19:05 min - It's 2039 in Omagakii First Nation. The land has been consumed by lithium mines, and the Nuclear Waste Corporation has buried 100,000 tonnes of Canada's nuclear waste in the ground. Few were prepared for the disaster. An Ogichidaa-Kwe who refused to evacuate survives in isolation, continuing to love and resist as the world sickens around her.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

For 15 years the International Uranium Film Festival (IUFF) raises awareness about the risks of atomic power and promotes nuclear disarmament with independent films and panels of experts around the globe. In October 2024, Hollywood's MovieMaker Magazine named it one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World 2024". And in 2025, the festival's founders, Marcia Gomes de Oliveira and Norbert Suchanek, received the prestigious "Nuclear-Free Future Award" in New York City in the category education. The Uranium Film Festival especially in Rio focuses very much on the young generation.

Source: Pressenza