‘Atomic Cover-Up’: ‘The BFC Presents’ Q+A with Director Greg Mitchell
Greg Mitchell’s new, short documentary film is revealing and shocking. He brings our attention to the implications of misinformation and hiding facts from the public that could have prevented additional carnage and suffering. This year, the winner of our Short Film Category, “Atomic Cover-Up,” is thoughtfully written and narrated, showing film footage to the public for the first time. This film makes us refocus on lessons we have learned about the devastating effects of the atomic Bomb unleashed on Japan at the end of World War II.
[Q] How did you become interested in filmmaking?
[A] It seems like I've been "involved" with film from the beginning of my career as the top editor of several national magazines. When I started writing books, almost all of them revolved around media manipulation, hidden footage, and/or some kind of Hollywood intrigue. Some of my books started getting optioned for movies several decades ago (at the behest of Tom Hanks, Sally Field, and Paul Greengrass, among others). Although nothing has come of that so far, two of the books are under development today and may still happen. Nevertheless, I did not get directly involved in making films until I served as co-producer of the 2013 documentary on the worldwide influence of Beethoven's final symphony, Following the Ninth. Then Atomic Cover-up in 2021 became the first film that I wrote and directed. I've now completed a second film, also involving buried "political" footage, titled The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair. And I am working on a third focusing on... you guessed it, suppressed film.
[Q] What messages do you hope to convey with the movie Atomic Cover-Up?
[A] I suppose: When historical evidence is hidden, the office, entity, or government doing it probably has something horrible to hide. And: Continuing to defend the first and only use of nuclear weapons against cities makes it all the more likely this will happen again, especially since the U.S. (and some others) continue to embrace "first-use policy" that calls for the possible use of the Bomb in a first-strike if threatened in a crisis.
[Q] Would you describe your vision and passion for making films?
[A] I've always gotten very passionate about the subjects and the “message” in writing a dozen books, but there is a different and appealing drive now in making films. It may be because the type of archival films that I make can be completed fairly quickly and released to festivals and other screenings /streamings, without the filter of multinational publishing companies and teams of editors – and a lag of many months or years.
[Q] Please share your thoughts on the challenges you and your team may have faced as filmmakers during the pandemic?
[A] I could no longer sit down with the editor Rob Burgos as I had done in the early preparation – the editing was all long-distance. My estimable colleague, producer Suzanne Mitchell (no relation), lives nearby here in Rockland County and is always available for advice and critiques. But the three voice actors also received no in-person supervision from either of us, although Rob Burgos did a great job with them. Composer Charlie Seaborn lives in London.
[Q] You describe, Atomic Cover-Up, in your book bearing the same name, as “the greatest movie never made”. Please tell us why.
[A] Simply that if the American military officer (later top TV producer/director) Herbert Sussan, who helped shoot the footage in Japan, or possibly someone from a movie studio or emerging TV network, had been able to make a feature using the footage early on, it might have halted or at least slowed the dangerous, deadly and costly nuclear arms race that raged for 40 years and left us with the nuclear stockpiles, missiles, and threats today.
[Q] Now that your new documentary, Atomic Cover-Up, is available for the world to see, what are your hopes for its impact on audiences?
A reconsideration of the use of world-shattering and radiation-spreading weapons against civilians and anyone else – in 1945 and today. And the need for even more vigilance re: official lies and cover-ups.
[Q] Congratulations on your 1st Place in the Shorts category in our festival this year. Please describe your thoughts about the win.
We were enormously gratified, given the importance and prestige of the emerging Barrymore Center, which we were already very excited about. And now even more so with this award and our personal connection to the Center, less than 20 minutes down the road from my home in Nyack.
