The Nuclear Requiem

WATCH A NATIONWIDE AIRING APRIL 2ND AT 8:00PM EST ON WORLDCHANNEL.ORG


Now more than 70 years after the first and only nuclear bombs were used in war, North Korea’s nuclear tests and the potential for a new global arms race provide stark reminders of the enormous threat posed by the most lethal weapon ever invented.

Produced and directed by former ABC News executive producer Robert Frye, The Nuclear Requiem presents an updated, in-depth reflection on the continuing danger nuclear weapons pose, an honest assessment of the current obstacles to disarmament, and a frank, yet hopeful, discussion of what it will take to overcome the roadblocks to a safer world.

Featured are more than three dozen top security experts and citizen activists in countries from around the world. An original piano composition by Alain Kremski provides a meditative background score to the informed commentary.

The film begins with a brief overview of the major milestones in the nuclear age to provide essential historical background.

It then highlights the status of nuclear weapons worldwide and the major areas of concern, not just North Korea, but also a new cold war with Russia, with both countries spending billions of dollars on new weapons. Inside a UN session on nuclear nonproliferation, we witness first hand the complex political and strategic concerns that make steps towards disarmament a major challenge.

The Nuclear Requiem reviews some of the recent more hopeful developments, including the Iranian nuclear agreement and greatly improved verification capabilities, as well as voices from a new generation of younger experts and activists who are working globally to change the dialogue around what is possible.

The film includes President Obama’s historic 2016 visit to Hiroshima, the first by a U.S. President. In his speech he suggests we must "look directly into the eye of history and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again.” Hiroshima should be a memory that “allows us to fight complacency” and “fuels our moral imagination.”


  • Robert E. Frye is an Emmy award-winning producer of network news programs and independent documentaries for over four decades. Frye was the Executive Producer of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings in 1983. He also produced the recent film IN MY LIFETIME.

    • DARYL KIMBALL, Executive Director, Arms Control Association

    • AVNER COHEN, Senior Fellow, Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute for International Studies

    • ROSE GOTTEMOELLER, Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, US Dept of State

    • THOMAS COUNTRYMAN, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non Proliferation

    • GRIGORY BERDENNIKOV, Russian Ambassador, Nuclear Arms

    • JAYANTHA DHANAPALA, former UN Undersecretary for Disarmament

    • ANNA VASSILIEVA, Professor of Russian Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

    • TATSU SUZUKI, Director of Research Center, Nagasaki University

    • THOMAS MARKRAM, Deputy Director of Office of Disarmament Affairs, United Nations

    • LASSINA ZERBO, Executive Secretary, The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

    • LAURA ROCKWOOD, Director, the Vienna Center for Non-Proliferation

    • JACKIE CABASSO, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation

    • WILLIAM POTTER,Founder and Director, Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Monterey

  • “Intriguing and compelling... highlights the terror and hope nuclear weapons invoke. Historical images and the voices of those struggling to stop the bomb blend with views of politicians snared in conflict and yet striving for control. Viewing this powerful film you will feel a part of the ongoing crusade to end nuclear terror.”
    - William Lanouette, Author, Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard

    “A thoughtful film exploring the contours of our Nuclear Age. While the dangers of this age are clearly on display, [the film] also brought a measure of hope and reason.”
    - Kelly DeVine, Artistic Director, Global Peace Film Festival

    SCREENED AT

    United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Film Series

    OFFICIAL SELECTION

    Global Peace Film Festival