21,000 corpses, stolen bones, and a scientist they tried to silence. Cold War Australia went feral.
From 1957 to 1978, scientists secretly removed bone samples from over 21,000 dead Australians as they searched for evidence of the deadly poison, Strontium 90 - a by-product of nuclear testing. Silent Storm reveals the story behind this astonishing case of officially sanctioned "body-snatching". Set against a backdrop of the Cold War, the saga follows celebrated scientist, Hedley Marston, as he attempts to blow the whistle on radioactive contamination and challenge official claims that British atomic tests posed no threat to the Australian people. Marston's findings are not only disputed, he is targeted as "a scientist of counter-espionage interest". Now, questions are being raised about the health repercussions for generations of Australians.
Direction
Butt builds dread from bureaucratic memos
Acting
Brown's Marston reenactments feel genuinely haunted
Editing
Jarring cuts between pastoral footage and classified documents
Director
Peter Butt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Maralinga tests remain one of Australia's most suppressed historical traumas; this film helped force a 2006 government inquiry.
ASIO actually opened a file on Marston—not for leaking secrets, but for being 'too persuasive' in public lectures about radiation danger.
US
AU
