“Silent Fallout: Baby Teeth Speak” at the 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival
In the new installment of his documentary series, director Hideaki Ito gets personal with both firsthand and secondhand victims of nuclear radiation in the United States.
For nearly two decades, Japanese documentation Hideaki Ito has been dedicated to bringing to the surface the effects caused by nuclear radiation in the Pacific region. Now, he brings his focus to the mainland of the United States.
Through the voices of those affected, Silent Fallout: Baby Teeth Speak takes a look at the nuclear fallout in the U.S. mainland during and following the testing of nuclear weapons. Beginning in the early 1950s, nuclear weapons testing took place from the Eastern Pacific Ocean to areas of Nevada, Colorado, Mississippi and New Mexico. To understand increasing accounts of deformities and diseases (primarily cancer) in those of all ages during this time, researchers delved into the topic through the Baby Tooth Survey, a study that looked for radioactive strontium-90 levels in the baby teeth of children born after the end of World War II until 1965.
The film features testimonials by subjects including those who, as a result of the testing, had been diagnosed with Leukemia; donated their teeth to the Baby Tooth Survey as children; whose mother, Louise Reiss, was a prominent scientist who coordinated the study; have experienced the loss of loved ones due to radiation; and are other professional researchers and scientists.
On October 8, the film had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF). Ito spoke on his new film, emphasizing the importance of increasing awareness around the under-recognized topic and its victims.
“This is the third film I’ve made about radiation,” Ito said (via his translator). “The first two films are focused on the radiation in the Pacific Ocean and are about fishermen who were exposed to it. Throughout the coverage, I found out that the nuclear problem is in the United States, too. I want the people in the U.S. to know about this.”
Although gathering money to make the film was an obstacle in some ways, Ito said he raised $250,000 from fundraising and had received $50,000 from the Japanese government in support of the production.
Ito also spoke on the social consciousness when it comes to nuclear testing: “Of course, in Japan, we had two atomic bombs dropped on us during World War II, but in the U.S., 101 atomic bombs were dropped on the mainland by the government [for testing]. I want people to know about the facts and how the victims suffered.”
In the wake of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was released in the U.S. this past summer and is still yet to be shown in Japan, Ito said, “You need documentaries, but in some ways, narrative films can tell more of a story.”
Alec Baldwin, who narrates the film, attended HIFF on behalf of Silent Fallout: Baby Teeth Speak, along with Ito and his translator, Rieko Tomomatsu, who accompanied Ito during the filming process.
10/21/23