All language subtitles for Chernobyls.Cafe.2016.WEBRip.x264-ION10

- On the 26th of April, 1986
at approximately 1:24 am,

reactor number four

of the Chernobyl nuclear
plant starts melting.

- A significant amount
of radioactive material

is projected for several
days in the air

affecting all forms of life

in a radius of 500
km around the plant.

Tens of thousands of
liquidators clean up

radioactive waste that
is scattered at the site

and the surrounding areas
just after the explosion.

Their protections
are insignificant

and they are exposed to
doses of lethal radiation.

Most of them will die
or end up disabled.

An area of 30 km around
the plant is closed

and totally drained
of its one hundred

and fifteen thousand
inhabitants.

Chernobyl is and will remain

radioactive for
thousands of years.

30 years after the disaster,
what is it that drives man

to come back to this
contaminated land?

At about an hour and a
half drive from Kiev,

the checkpoint "Dityatki"
marks the entrance

into the 30km forbidden zone.

Access is strictly regulated
and the army controls

every entrance and exit.

At first glance we see that
nature is very present.

In 1986 Chernobyl city had
about 13,000 inhabitants,

and officially today
there are none.

Despite all this, grass is mowed
and houses are maintained...

And you quickly
forget where you are.

But the devil is
in the details.

All is calm, almost frozen.

Yet, there are signs of
life, attempts to make

daily life more
colourful and joyful.

In fact, about 600 people live
and sleep here in Chernobyl.

Most of them are working
on the building

of the new sarcophagus, that
will soon cover the plant.

They’re allowed to stay
for 15 days in the area,

but then they must leave
for the next 15 days.

This is the rule, in order to
not exceed the radiation dose.

The new water pipes were
not buried in order

to avoid contact with
the radioactive ground.

So the pipes are apparent.

Sometimes you have
to step over them.

And sometimes they are the
ones that cross over you.

And all of a sudden, at certain
hours, life starts up again.

Cars go by. People walk
home or ride their bikes.

Here, combat clothes
are the fashion.

It’s as if everyone was at war,
against the invisible enemy.

Radioactivity in the
city is near to normal.

In subdivisions,
homes were abandoned

immediately after the disaster.

People left everything.

Some people have returned,

and have put their
homes back in order.

They’ve furnished them
and they live there,

but they still follow
the rule of 15 days in

the area, 15 days out.

In these neighbourhoods,
life is modest and for

a few hundred Euros you
can buy a small house

with a garden and
enjoy the tranquillity

of a true country house.

A small community co-exists, and
social life is slowly growing.

In 2013, a café opened in the
heart of the city of Chernobyl.

Before 1986, these
premises housed

a large municipal canteen.

The establishment was
called "canteen Number 10",

and the café was
christened Café 10.

Coincidence or destiny, it’s
10 kilometres from the plant.

It is open from 7am to 10pm

and every day thirty some
people have a drink,

or eat Ukrainian
specialities on the menu.

Several devices continuously
measure radioactivity.

The café also offer rooms
worthy of a good hotel in Kiev.

SergeÏ, the boss, made a
bargain when he settled here.

The café employs ten people.

They’re all aware of the
risks, and have thought

long and hard before
coming to work here.

More and more tourists
come eat in the café.

They rub shoulders with
the plant workers.

Noon is the rush-hour.

The time in the
zone being limited,

service must be
fast and efficient.

This meal is an essential
moment for both eating

but also exchanging
and preparing

for the afternoon’s excursion.

Everyone releases
stress and anxiety.

Coming to Chernobyl is
far from trivial...

The café even has its gift shop.

In the afternoon, the
tourists leave Chernobyl,

and hit the road to
the city of Pripyat.

Fresh out of Chernobyl,

we must go through a new
military checkpoint.

We enter the 10km zone
around the plant.

The Red Forest.

This is the name given to
the 400 hectares of pines

that once surrounded the plant.

After the accident,
the trees turned red

because of the
radioactive radiations.

The whole forest was
bulldozed and buried.

Today the new arch construction
is visible from afar.

It will replace the
old sarcophagus,

and it will entirely
cover the plant.

The radioactivity
here is alarming.

In the inside of a car it
is 50 times above normal.

You do not stop.

Doses are much higher
on the ground.

A few kilometres further north,
the road splits into two.

A monument points to
the one that leads

to the city of Pripyat.

One must cross "the
bridge of death".

The day after the disaster,
the inhabitants of the city

gathered here to watch
the plant burning.

On this bridge they all received
lethal doses of radiation.

On April 27th, 1986, at dawn,

the city of Pripyat
was still asleep.

The white flashes
visible in these images

are due to radiation.

The plant has been burning
for over 20 hours now,

and the population still
doesn’t know what’s going on.

The military rushed here

cross by the first early
risers of the population.

But nothing is said.

It's Sunday. People go out.

Three kilometres away,

helicopters hover above
reactor number 4.

They try to extinguish the
flames and limit releases

of iodine, caesium and tellurium

that spread continuously
in the air.

Every hour, the army measures
radioactivity around the city.

The counters are
panicking, at this rate

the lethal dose is
reached within 4 days.

Precisely forty nine thousand,

three hundred and sixty
people live here.

In a few hours the lives of
these people will be shattered.

Twelve hundred buses
and 200 trucks

will arrive in the main square.

It will only take three and a
half hours to empty the city.

LOUD SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

The loud speakers make
the announcement.

One may only take
bare necessities.

Identification papers,
change of clothing

and some food for the trip.

It is forbidden to take animals.

The voice on the
loud speaker says

that this is a
temporary evacuation.

LOUD SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

The first buses enter the
city early in the afternoon.

People leave their apartments,

and entrances of buildings
are locked behind them.

LOUD SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

Some faint and others vomit.

Most of them are already
heavily irradiated.

LOUD SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

By late afternoon, the
city is deserted.

The families will be rehoused
in social apartments in Kiev.

They will be
rejected and abused.

No one wants to live near
to contaminated neighbours.

Those that left for three days,
would in fact never return.

Pripyat is now completely
surrounded by barbed wire.

And access to the city
is guarded by one man.

MUSIC

MUSIC

MUSIC

Pripyat is now
populated with trees.

They grow everywhere.

Most plants have adapted
and their DNA has mutated.

They have many
structural defects,

tumours and malformations.

It's not spectacular

but degeneration has
become the norm.

The land is less
contaminated in the area,

because each year, radionuclides
sink deeper into the ground.

However, these plants absorb
radioactive particles

by their roots, which
then grow to the surface.

Moss, leaves, and flowers,
are contaminants.

The Pripyat swimming
pool has become

one of the most visited
places in the city

since it appeared in
a famous video game.

Some come from far away
just to see it for real.

Built to accommodate
the families of those

who worked at the plant, the
town provided everything

one could wish for at the time.

Right next to the pool
we can see the trace

of an old courtyard of
one of the five schools.

A thousand students
studied here.

On the ground floor, the
canteen is strangely empty.

Even the heavy cast iron
radiators are gone.

Looters came and took
everything that was valuable.

A little further, hundreds
of children's gas masks

litter the ground.

Each school had its own stock,

in anticipation of a
possible US nuclear attack.

In reality, they
were never used,

the looters are the ones
who threw them there.

Time is frozen in the corridors.

The patriotic newspaper of
April 23rd is still on display.

In some classrooms it feels like
the day after the disaster.

Sometimes, realism is a bit
too forced and disturbing.

Some objects seem
to have been moved

and staged for
tourists' photographs.

The city has the most
contaminated spots

in the whole area, yet it
attracts more and more people.

In the hospital you can
still find clothes left

by the liquidators on the
day of the disaster.

This is one of the most
radioactive places in the world,

yet some visit it unprotected,

risking exposure
to lethal doses.

The area is often compared
to a nature reserve

thanks to the great
diversity of flora

and fauna that are present.

Hunting and fishing
are prohibited.

In the little port of
Pripyat, the last moored boat

has almost finished sinking.

It is difficult to imagine
that life once swarmed here.

Hundreds of people
came every weekend

to go sailing or picnicking.

In this tavern at
the water's edge,

young people used
to meet and flirt.

FAINT AND ECHOING CHATTERING

Serge Ditiarenko has been a
guide in the area for 5 years.

His work is his passion.

But he admits that being here,

is also a form of
fighting defeat.

The Ukrainian army is fighting
to keep its land and border

from Russia, whereas here
we are in the process

of taking back soil contaminated
by the former USSR.

An amusement park
should have been opened

four days after the disaster.

Yet the Ferris wheel was
started the day after

the explosion to
keep the locals busy

and avoid panic before
the evacuation.

It became the
symbol of the city.

This is the inescapable cliché.

The authorities and tour
operators want reassurance

regarding the doses of
radiation that tourists

are exposed to, but nobody
knows the real impact

of such visits on the body.

So-called black or morbid
tourism is on the rise.

Travel agencies have
seized this opportunity.

There are more and
more tourists,

but the former
inhabitants of the city

rarely want to come back.

By late afternoon, tourists
who are still in the area

return to the café.

At dusk, exterior
doors are locked.

In the area, a curfew is
in place until morning.

Pripyat and Chernobyl
were the two main cities.

But there were also
many villages.

The most radioactive ones
were bulldozed and buried.

Those that remain are the
prey of metal looters.

The metal is often
radioactive to the extreme,

especially when it comes
to tools or vehicles

that were used during
the liquidation.

Houses and apartments
have been robbed.

Everywhere, radiators,
power lines, cars

and even military equipment
has disappeared.

Some clandestine
trucks were arrested

but the majority crossed the
checkpoints unmolested.

Corruption is widespread and the
government says it is helpless.

In 30 years, 6 million
tons of radioactive metal

have left the zone, that
makes 548 tons per day.

This metal goes to foundries
in Eastern Ukraine,

that are then are sold
on the Chinese market.

The Chernobyl radioactive
metal can maybe be found

today all over the world in
the most ordinary objects.

Only churches and memorials
seem to have been spared.

Looters haven’t passed through
this kindergarten yet.

Radioactivity is
still very strong.

But thieves don’t care.

They’ll come and cut every
centimetre of metal

without wearing any
protective equipment.

These men often live in
precarious conditions

and don’t care about risking
their future health.

MUSIC

The Ukrainian generation
born after the disaster

perceives the situation
from a different angle.

Many have already come to
the area but virtually,

through video games like
Call of Duty or Stalker,

that take place around
the plant and Pripyat.

Elina is part of
this generation,

she’s a translator and comes
regularly to the area.

The story of the
drama is alive,

but the emotional
memory of those

who lived through it
gradually fades away.

Ivan and his wife
Maria are Samossioly.

This is the name given to
those who have returned

to live clandestinely in the
area after the disaster.

Most of them are sick

and their numbers decreases
from year to year.

They live in near autarky.

And when we ask them
why they returned

to live in the forbidden zone,
their answer is simple:

their life is here.

CHATTERING

Other Samossioly work collecting
metal abandoned by the army.

Whole fields of irradiated
military equipment

has disappeared.

These men paid dearly for
a few hundred dollars.

Ivan never participated
in the dismantling,

but nevertheless he was exposed
to high doses of caesium.

The human body does not adapt to
radiation as easily as nature.

The most resistant
animals are insects,

and even though many of
them died in the beginning,

they’ve gradually adapted.

In some species, close to
60 generations have passed,

while man is still
in his first.

If some animals in the area
have grown to impressive sizes,

it is only because of
the absence of humans.

Among the regulars of the area,

Misha is a regular
customer at the café.

He works for the
city of Chernobyl

and allows access to
the different sites.

Despite the reassuring
speech of the authorities

concerning radioactivity
in the city,

the 30 km zone is
strictly prohibited

for pregnant women and
children under the age of 18.

The Lenin Plant lies between
Chernobyl and Pripyat.

It is the heart
of all concerns.

The old sarcophagus,

hastily built around the
remains of reactor No. 4

is no longer sealed.

Some gaps are large enough
to drive a car through them.

Recently the building structure

became unstable and scaffolds

were built to prevent
its collapse.

To delay the threat, a gigantic
arch is under construction.

It is mobile and will
cover the entire plant.

For the moment, it is
impossible to decontaminate

and treat highly
radioactive substances

present in reactor number 4.

The ark is expected
to last a 100 years.

From now on, we must invent,

fund and implement an
eventual solution.

Novarka, a consortium
between the Bouygues

and Vinci companies, is the
firm in charge of the work.

It employs between 1000 and 1200
people each day on the site.

For people in the region,

these job offers are a
fantastic opportunity.

Their health is not
their priority.

Since the year 2000, all
engines have stopped,

but people are still working
right inside the plant.

There is around-the-clock
surveillance.

At 10 meters high, a
gigantic corridor

that is over one
kilometre long,

goes through the entire
length of the building.

It's called the golden corridor.

It leads to the strategic
places of the plant.

At the end of the corridor,

lies the terrible reactor
number 4, that exploded.

The equipment used
in construction

seems surprisingly rudimentary.

Most doors and door frames
are made out of wood

and the mosaic floor moves and
falls apart when you walk on it.

The Lenin Plant was
nevertheless known

to be one of the safest and
most modern of the former USSR.

Despite the dangers, the
plant was kept in business

after the disaster.
The decision to

completely shut it down was
only made in December 2000.

The other reactors had
become too threatening.

CHATTERING

It is from post number 4,
identical to this one,

that operators handled the
situation 30 years ago.

We now know that the centre
had some design flaws,

but if the explosion occurred,
it is because of human error.

Chernobyl is not unique.

The oldest plant of this type
is located in Leningrad,

Russia, and we
discovered that in 1975

a similar incident had occurred.

The accident was less
important than here.

CHATTERING

There are still ten plants

using this style of
technology worldwide.

The equipment is
completely outdated

and the situation
is distressing.

The real wealth of the plant
are the people working there.

They have devoted
themselves body and soul,

waiting for the arrival
of the new sarcophagus.

The chief operating officer
of reactor number 2,

has been working at the
plant for 28 years.

He’s Russian and his
colleagues are Ukrainian.

The common goal being primarily
to prevent another tragedy.

The authorized dose
for nuclear workers

is 20 times higher than
for an ordinary citizen.

If we go deeper into
the core of the plant

towards reactor number 4, the
passage suddenly darkens.

Corridor is narrow and damp.

The walls are peeling.

The dosimeters are
creaking continuously.

In the cooling air passages

between reactors 3 and 4, most
accesses have been processed.

Yet radioactivity is
extremely variable,

and where the worn-off
linoleum exposes

the concrete floor, the
measures are very high.

This big white wall
is the sarcophagus

built after the disaster.

CHATTERING

A memorial has been erected in
honour of Valery Khodemshuk,

the first victim
of the explosion.

CHATTERING

Here radioactivity in the
air is 16 micro Sieverts,

in other words, a 160
times above normal.

BEEPING

Behind this red door,
less than 20 meters away,

is a corium; also
called elephant foot.

This is a highly toxic
and radioactive magma.

It destroys everything
in its path.

It’s temperature of 2500 degrees

does not decrease in
contact with air.

It will remain radioactive
for 250,000 years.

It kills all those who approach
it in less than five minutes.

Before exiting the
plant, one must pass

a security check-point
that measures radiation.

But is the machine
really working?

The guide says it hasn’t
beeped in 30 years...

A wall in memory of the
liquidators was built

just outside the entrance
of the enclosure.

Between 600,000 and
800,000 people

have worked to
decontaminate the site.

They were volunteers
and considered

that their involvement
was part of their duty.

Without them, the
Chernobyl disaster

would have severely
contaminated all of Europe.

In the end, 250,000
people were evacuated.

And hundreds of villages
were wiped off the map.

Tonight, there’s no
curfew in Chernobyl.

Once a year the city lets
the liquidators families

come in for a few hours.

They all lost someone, and
are often sick themselves.

Emotions are contradictory.

We are guilty for surviving,
but happy to still be alive.

SPEECH

The families of the survivors

have rebuilt their lives
outside the area.

Radiation has
affected their health

and that of their
young children.

But what about the
next generations?

In Russia, Belarus and Ukraine,

doctors have found dramatic
increases of malformations,

leukaemia and cancer in children
born just after the disaster.

Even today, many cases of
malformations are detected.

They affect the vital
functions of newborns

and are more
difficult to detect.

30 years have passed and
man is back in Chernobyl.

When we start leaving the zone,

the café appears
to be a first step

towards reclaiming
contaminated soil.

What could be more reassuring
than a simple café,

to imagine that we
could live here

like anywhere else
in the world?

We can now work, sightsee,
have a drink with friends

or enjoy a country
house in Chernobyl.

The explosion of the plant
had terrible human,

ecological and also economic
consequences for Ukraine.

In 2011, Ukrainian President
Viktor Yanukovich

declared that he wants
to resume farming

on irradiated land, even
within the prohibited zone.

The undeveloped area is the size
of a country like Luxembourg.

In addition, the United Nations
launched a development

and rehabilitation program for
the affected areas of Chernobyl.

A new step has been taken.

So we will perhaps soon have

irradiated products from
Chernobyl in our food chain.

MUSIC