Time Bombs

The documentary “Time Bombs,” recently received the awards of “Best documentary” from the New York International Independent Film and Video festival and “Best documentary” from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Veronique came up with the idea for the documentary and did the research. She was nominated for “Best research” at the Gemeaux awards in 2008.

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From Productions de la ruelle: In the spring of 1957, 40 young Canadian soldiers were sent to Nevada on a top secret mission. These young men did not know they would be used as guinea pigs in the most important nuclear test program of the Cold War. The American military wanted to know how the average soldier would hold up on a nuclear battlefield.

With absolutely no knowledge of the effects of radiation, the boys played “war games,” sometimes less than 1,000 yards from exploding nuclear bombs: bombs as much as four times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The effects were devastating. Many of the men fell gravely ill, and some of their children were born with deformities or handicaps. The controversial operation has never received official recognition from the Government of Canada.

50 years after the tests, Time Bombs follows the Atomic Veterans in their quest for recognition from the Government.

Produced by Guylaine Maroist and Eric Ruel as part of Global Television’s “Global Currents” documentary series, Time Bombs turns a spotlight on this embarrassing and controversial page in Canadian military history. A team of journalists traced the few survivors of Operation Plumbbob. The documentary’s makers also tracked down never-before-screened film records of American nuclear tests involving soldiers. Using these stunning records, Time Bombs helps us relive the soldiers’ incredible experience.

In this real-life thriller, we follow Jim Huntley, the only veteran still in good health, as he puts his case to the government and confronts the politicians who are trying to dampen their efforts. As the controversy gains media attention, will policy makers listen to the plights of these veterans?

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