INTO ETERNITY - A FILM FOR THE FUTURE
Every day, the world over, large amounts of high level radioactive waste are placed in interim storages which are vulnerable to natural or manmade disasters. In Finland the world's first permanent storage is being constructed - a huge system of underground tunnels hewn out of solid rock. It is essential that it lasts 100.000 years, as this is how long the waste remains hazardous. When the waste has been deposited, the facility will be sealed off, never to be reopened. But can we ensure that? How is it possible to warn our descendants of the waste we left behind? How can we prevent them from thinking they have found the pyramids of our time, mystical burial grounds, hidden treasures? Which languages and signs will they understand, and if they understand, will they respect our instructions?
Release: 2010 (Denmark)
Duration: 75 minutes
Genre: Documentary feature
Spoken language: English and Finnish
Director: Michael Madsen
Screenplay: Michael Madsen and Jesper Bergmann
Cinematography: Heikki Färm
Editors: Daniel Dencik and Stefan Sundlöf
Sound Design: Nicolai Linck, Øivind Weingaarde and Tomas Arwe
Composer: Karsten Fundal
Producer: Lise Lense-Møller
Production Countries: Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Italy
Production Company: Magic Hour Films
Coproducers: Atmo Media Network, Eurimages, Film i Väst,
Mouka Filmi Oy and Minerva Film
Produced with support from: AVEK, Danish Filmdirectors, The Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, Finnish Film Foundation, Massproduction, Minerva Film, National Geographic, Nordic Film- & TV-Fond, Politiken-Fonden, Sonning Fonden, Suomen Elokuvasäätiö, The Swedish Film Institute, SVT, Tonestyrelsen and YLE.
The film was nominated for the 2011 Cinema Eye Honors Awards in the categories Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography & Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature Film, CPH:DOX's 2011 Danish Dox Award, Detroit Film Critic Society's 2010 Best Documentary Award, Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival 2011 Open Eyes Jury Award, and Tribeca Film Festival 2010 Best Documentary Feature Award.
The film won recognition and awards from The Danish Arts Foundation, The Committee for Film and Theatre in 2010, CPH:DOX's Reel Talent 2010 Award and Politiken's Audience Award 2011. The film went on the win the Grand Prix price at Vision Du Reel 2010 in Nyon, the Green Award at Planete Doc Review 2010 in Warszawa, a Special Mention at Docufest 2010 in Prizren, the Nordic Documentary Award at Nordisk Panorama 2010, the Grande Premio Cine'eco and Youth Jury Award at CineEcoJúri Internacional 2010 in Portugal, the Lichtpunt Prize at Festival des Libertes 2010 in Brussels, the Green Award and a Special Mention at the 2010 Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2010, the IDFA Green Screen Award 2010 at IDFA in The Netherlands, the 2010 Grand Prix at FIFE in Paris, a Special Mention: Best International Feature Doc and the award for Best international editing at the 2010 Documentary New Zealand Trust Awards, the award for "the most innovative approach to an environmental issue" at the 2011 Cinemaplaneta in Mexico, the Jury Award: Best Feature Documentary at the 2011 International Uranium Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro, the award for Best International Film at the 2011 Antenna International Documentary Film Festival in Sydney, the Grand Prix at the 2011 Baikal International Festival of Documentary in Irkutsk, the award for Best International Feature Film at the 2011 FilmAmbiente - International Environmental Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro and finally the Best of Festival award at the 2012 Wild & Scenic Film Festival in California, USA.