Sorokovka

Tucked away in Russia's vast landscape is a seemingly average Soviet-era city. But City 40 is decidedly not average. Surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, the men, women and children who live here are prisoners labouring under the delusion that they're the nuclear shield and saviours of the world. In this chilling film, we witness a world drawn straight from the pages of science fiction - except that it's real. The populace grows sicker by the day as they live in one of the most contaminated places on earth, home to Russia's largest stockpile of nuclear materials. In a daring move to expose the truth, the film crew is smuggled behind the walls to uncover the stories of a brave single mother and other courageous residents who risk their lives to warn us of the human and environmental catastrophe that threatens the region. (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)