Atomic Ed and the Black Hole

Last updated
Atomic Ed and the Black Hole
Atomiced2.jpg
Directed by Ellen Spiro
Produced byEllen Spiro
Karen Bernstein
CinematographyEllen Spiro
Edited by Karen Skloss
Distributed byHBO/Cinemax Documentary
Release date
  • 2001 (2001)
Running time
40 minutes

Atomic Ed and the Black Hole is a documentary released in 2001 by filmmaker, Ellen Spiro. [1] The documentary was made for HBO's Cinemax Reel Life Series. Sheila Nevins served as Executive Producer and Lisa Heller served as Supervising Producer. Karen Bernstein served as Producer. Laurie Anderson provided her song, Big Science, for the soundtrack.

Contents

Ed Grothus (“Atomic Ed”) is a machinist-turned-atomic junk collector who more than 30 years ago quit his job of making atomic bombs and began collecting non-radioactive high-tech nuclear waste discarded from the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Atomic Ed is the proprietor of “The Black Hole”, a second-hand shop and, next door, curator of the unofficial museum of the nuclear age. His collection reveals and preserves the history of government waste that was literally thrown in a trash heap.

Awards and festival screenings

Articles

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Atomic Cafe</i> 1982 documentary film

The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.

The San Francisco International Film Festival, organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. In 2009, it served around 82,000 patrons, with screenings held in San Francisco and Berkeley.

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Walker (director)</span> English film director

Lucy Walker is an English film director. She has directed the documentaries Devil's Playground (2002), Blindsight (2006), Waste Land (2010), Countdown to Zero (2010), and The Crash Reel (2013). She has also directed the short films The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011) and The Lion's Mouth Opens (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mani Haghighi</span> Iranian film director, screenwriter and actor

Mani Haghighi is an Iranian film director, writer, film producer, and actor. Haghighi started making movies in 2001.

The Santa Fe Film Festival is a non-profit organization which presents important world cinema that represents aesthetic, critical, and entertainment standards highlighting New Mexican film. The organization partners with educational groups, schools, and other non-profits to provide a forum for filmmakers, critics, educators, and historians. The award is in the form of a mounted original sculpture. The festival has been listed as one of the top independent film festivals in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Spiro</span> American film director

Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She is a producer and director of a television documentary Are the Kids Alright?, which won an Emmy Award in 2005.

<i>Are the Kids Alright?</i> American TV series or program

Are the Kids Alright? is a documentary film which explores mental health care for children and youths at risk in Texas. The filmmaker, Ellen Spiro, gained unprecedented access to troubled children and their families, as well as the judicial, psychiatric and correctional institutions. By following several different families, the filmmakers document the results of the decline in the availability of mental health services for the youth who most desperately need it.

<i>Greetings from Out Here</i> 1993 American film

Greetings from Out Here is a 1993 road trip documentary film which captures the people, places and politics of gay America in the Deep South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Grothus</span>

Edward Bernard Grothus was an American machinist and technician at the Los Alamos National Laboratory during the 1950s and 1960s. In later life he became the owner of a surplus store which he used as a base for peace and anti-nuclear activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Gaylor</span> Canadian documentary filmmaker

Brett Gaylor is a Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Victoria, British Columbia. He grew up on Galiano Island, British Columbia. He was formerly the VP of Mozilla's Webmaker Program. His documentary, Do Not Track, explores privacy and the web economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Chasnoff</span> American filmmaker (1957–2017)

Debra Chasnoff was an American documentary filmmaker and activist whose films address progressive social justice issues. Her production company GroundSpark produces and distributes films, educational resources and campaigns on issues ranging from environmental concerns to affordable housing to preventing prejudice.

Vickie Gest is a documentary and drama producer from Brisbane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Dhabi Film Festival</span>

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival, formerly the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 2015.

Chip Duncan is an American filmmaker, author and photographer, known principally for documentaries on history, current affairs, travel, and natural history. He is also president of Duncan Group, Inc., a production company and has produced feature films including Eden, nominated for the 1996 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and Row Your Boat starring Jon Bon Jovi.

The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories is a Bulgarian documentary feature film directed by Andrey Paounov and written by professor Lilia Topouzova. It was included in the 46th International Critics' Week of the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

Alex Kelly is an Australian freelance artist, filmmaker and producer based in regional Australia. Kelly was born in regional NSW and grew up in a farming community near Wodonga in regional Victoria,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Kleiman</span> American documentary film producer

Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker. She has received a National Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Research and executive produced an Academy Award nominated documentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janire Nájera</span> Spanish multimedia artist, documentary photographer and producer

Janire Nájera is a Spanish multimedia artist, documentary photographer and producer, living and working in Cardiff, Wales.

References

  1. Spiro, Ellen (2003-02-01), Atomic Ed & the Black Hole (Documentary, Short), Ed Grothus, retrieved 2020-11-10
  2. "SXSW 2001 FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS | Film Threat". 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2020-11-10.