ATOMIC PEOPLE: BBC TWO ANNOUNCES FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

Amidst recent Russian threats of a nuclear attack, this landmark BBC film for BBC Two and iPlayer will explore the human fallout from the first and last atomic bombs used in an act of war.

The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on two Japanese cities - Hiroshima, on August 6th, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later, was one of the most momentous and destructive in world history.

The bomb known as ‘Little Boy’ that decimated Hiroshima was 2000 times more powerful than any bomb before, instantly killing 80,000 of the city’s 350,000 residents. By the end of the year, the death toll would rise to 140,000 as initial survivors succumbed to illnesses connected to radiation exposure. In Nagasaki, where 40,000 were killed instantly, the number would rise to 74,000 by the end of the year.

Now, nearly eighty years later, this film will gather the testimony of the last ‘Hibakushas’ - survivors of the two atomic bombs – before their voices are lost forever. With an average age of 85, most Hibakushas were children when the bombs were dropped.

‘Atomic People’ (WT) will feature a significant number of voices from this shrinking group - the only people left on earth to have survived a nuclear bomb – whilst exploring how their experiences continue to affect them to this day.

Atomic People (wt), a 1x90' for BBC Two and iPlayer, is made by Minnow Films. It was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. The Executive Producer is Morgan Matthews, the Directors are Megumi Inman and Benedict Sanderson and the Commissioning Editor is Emma Loach.