1 x 90’
The feature length special doc follows presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle on a unique trip as he spends a week living inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, thirty-five years after the world’s worst nuclear accident.
Ben Fogle is granted special access deep into the exclusion zone and the deserted towns and forest, including the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant itself. Venturing inside its doomed remains, Ben gains entry into Control Room 4, where the disaster unfolded, and is one of the few outsiders allowed to witness the original Chernobyl sarcophagus. Anyone entering the newly opened control room is limited to just 5 minutes for radiation safety reason.
Ben also explores the ruins of the infamous Hospital 126 and meets a policeman who was on duty on the night and witnessed the explosion.
Throughout his time in the Exclusion Zone, Ben uncovers the strange place Chernobyl has now become, from the abandoned listening post of the Soviet era, to the makeshift and unofficial living spaces now emerging inside the abandoned tenements. He joins local police on a raid looking for ‘stalkers’ – a group who illegally enter the zone in search of thrills - and meets the incredible Self Settlers who came back to live in Chernobyl after the evacuation.
The documentary will also offer an ecological glimmer of hope as Ben documents the limited return of nature to the abandoned town. With the state of the environment at a breaking point, it is hoped that the documentary will shine a light on what Chernobyl’s legacy means in today’s world, and whether we can find hope in what is still the most radioactive place on Earth.
