Hi everyone,
Firstly a huge thanks to everyone who took part in our recent series of book giveaways - it was great to welcome some new supporters to the film and to share some great books with you. Congratulations to the winners :-)
If this is the first newsletter you're getting from me, you can expect a mixture of news about nuclear power, book and film recommendations and of course updates on the progress of 'The Atom: A Love Affair' as we work towards premiering and releasing the film. Do give me a shout if there's anything you'd like me to cover in future newsletters.
Nuclear vs Wind
 First up, one of the big nuclear news stories of the past few weeks has been a shift in the ongoing price battle between new nuclear and offshore wind - with the balance tipping away from nuclear for the first time as the costs of offshore wind tumble.
This Guardian article gives a good overview of developments. It continues a run of bad news stories about the challenging economics of nuclear power - a theme that we'll be exploring at length in 'The Atom: A Love Affair'...
Off to Sunny Spain - MEDIMED Docs Market & Pitching Forum
The eye-watering costs of the atom will definitely be one of the topics of conversation in Sitges, near Barcelona, where this time next week I'll be pitching the film to a panel of international broadcasters, with the hope of impressing some of them enough to come on board as broadcast partners.
As some of you may remember, I've taken part in similar pitch markets before - at Dok Leipzig in Germany and Sheffield DocFest in the UK - back when the film was still in development/early production stages.
But this is the first time I'll be showing a near-complete version of the film to industry people. And the first time I'll be doing a public pitch (think Dragons Den but for documentaries, in front of an audience of 150 people!) rather than pitching in one-to-one meetings.
So I'll confess to feeling both excited and a little daunted. But it's a fantastic opportunity for me and for the film. I'll let you know how I got on in the next newsletter. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Documentary film pick: The Vietnam War
I'm a big Ken Burns fan. As a Brit, I wasn't steeped in his work as I probably would have been growing up in the US. But it was his series on the American West - which aired over several consecutive mornings on the BBC in the Christmas holidays when I was a university student in the late 90s - that first got me into his work.
His landmark history series have covered everything from Baseball and Jazz to the American Civil War and Prohibition and now he's turned his attention to Vietnam, with his trademark forensic detail and use of ordinary people's testimony combined with expert analysis and arresting archive material. The series is currently playing in the UK on BBC4 or on PBS if you're in the US. I highly recommend you check it out.
A book about nuclear power
Lastly, here's a somewhat quirky book recommendation. Atomic Postcards is a beautifully produced art book bringing together 150 reproductions of cards and handwritten messages dating from the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the end of the Cold War, with images of nuclear test explosions, long-range missiles, fallout shelters and nuclear power plants complete with cheery slogans. Greetings from Los Alamos!
Well, that's all for now. Thanks again for all your support and I'll be in touch with more updates and recommendations for you next month.
Best wishes as always,
Vicki x
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