Directed by Fathima Nizaruddin, Nuclear Hallucinations (54’/2016) is a film, which claims to be a documentary, and it is centered around the anti-nuclear struggle against the Kudankulam Atomic Power Project in India. In a context where cases of sedition and waging of war against the state are filed against anti-nuclear protesters, the film attempts to question the totalitarian nature of pro- nuclear assertions through comic modes. Satirical impersonations, performance and ironic renderings of jingoistic rhetoric work together to form a narrative that explores the tragic absurdity of constructing nuclear power plants on a tsunami affected coast. This narrative tries to ascertain the relation between the production of “scientific facts” about the “safe” nature of the Indian nuclear project and violence against anti-nuclear protesters including police firing. Anti-nuclear activists, villagers and performers who appear in the film engage with the farcical dimension of these “facts” and this raises larger questions about how authoritarian knowledge claims are asserted through the documentary form. Nuclear Hallucinations has been screened in several film festivals including Film South Asia, Kathmandu, Uranium Film Festival, Berlin and Kochi Biennale amongst others.

Nizaruddin is an alumnus of Goldsmiths, University of London and University of Westminster. Her films have been screened at various international film festivals including Punto de Vista (Spain), Filmmor Women’s Film Festival (Turkey), Bracelona International Women’s Film Festival, and Environmental Film Festival (Albania). Fathima works as an Assistant Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Her research interests include embodied communication, mobile media, bhakti publics, right- wing circulations and documentary film. She has been the recipient of the National Geographic’s All Roads Seed Grant and Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT)’s Film Fellowship. Her articles have been published in BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies and Dastavezi: The Audio- Visual South Asia. Nuclear Hallucinations emerged out of her practice based PhD project at CREAM, University of Westminster.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and inaugural reception of the AVPhD 2019-20 seminar series.

AVPhD seminars are jointly convened by University of Westminster and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Please register for the event here.