Chornobyl: Inside the New Safe Confinement

Forty years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine remains one of the most complex and haunting environments on Earth. Standing as a testament to global cooperation is the New Safe Confinement (NSC)—the largest moveable metal structure ever built, designed to seal off the remains of Reactor 4 for the next century.

But how do you capture this engineering marvel and the stories of survivors when the landscape is no longer just a radiation hazard, but an active war zone?

Commissioned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), this immersive documentary required a delicate balance of technical precision and raw nerves. Henry Stuart (Immersive Supervisor and DOP) takes you behind the scenes of a production defined by extreme variables. The crew navigated the unique challenges of working in a high-security shelter—one punctured by a Russian drone only months prior to the shoot—all while managing strict radiation monitoring and dosimetry protocols.

Henry will anchor his talk around the grueling reality of filming in a restricted zone under the dual shadow of invisible radioactive particles and modern warfare.

Reserve your spot here and join the session live on Zoom on Friday 12th June or watch the replay:

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