The Greater Chernobyl Cause

The Polygon is the story of a Kazakh village that lies just 18 kilometers from the former Soviet Nuclear Test Site. Over forty years and 600 nuclear explosions left the land, water and people battling the effects of severe long term radiation exposure. Their plight has been ignored by both the Russian and Kazakh Governments and their story has remained untold until now. 

We experience this journey through the eyes of the villagers themselves, including Bolat Baltabek, a teacher, father and town leader.  Having lost his lost sister, brother, son, and countless neighbors to radiation related diseases, he becomes our guide and through him we being to understand the struggles and strengths of the Sarzhal villagers as they struggle to make their lives work in an irradiated environment.

Shot over a period of three years The Polygon documents the fallout of the Soviet tests that began in 1949, and continue to affect over 1.5 million people.  Victims who have, to date, not received compensation or care. 

The filmmakers journey from the poverty of the Kazakh villages on the Steppe to the wealthy urban sprawl of modern Kazakhstan in an attempt to draw international attention to this massive and otherwise forgotten global nuclear disaster.

These forgotten people desperately need our help, please click on donate now to make your donation.