About

Ground Zero is a riveting Australian thriller that dives into the murky cover-up of the nuclear testing conducted by the British government in the Maralinga area of South Australia in the 1950s. Colin Friels plays Harvey Denton, a cinematographer who stumbles across footage shot by his father that shows the secret testing, which involved deliberately exposing military personnel and the local Indigenous population to radioactive materials. Denton soon finds himself being pulled further into the conspiracy behind the cover-up, as ASIO works to stop him from making the footage public.

A rare entry into the Australian nuclear cinema canon, Ground Zero explores a long-hidden secret in our nation's past - one that would (decades after the events) lead to the Australian government paying compensation to the traditional owners of the Maralinga Tjarutja lands. The co-directors Michael Pattinson and Bruce Myles frame their telling of the story as a conspiracy thriller in the vein of Alan J Pakula, in which the protagonist stumbles into a situation far more wide-ranging and sinister than he ever could have originally conceived. Friels is ably supported by the rest of the cast, which includes appearances from Jack Thompson, Donald Pleasance, and Aboriginal activist Burnum Burnum. Ground Zero is a fascinating film set against one of the darkest episodes of Australia's post-war history.