RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY

Nucleus

Director: James Thomson

Production Company: Melt Films Ltd (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Format: Hybrid Feature Documentary

Key Funders & Partners: Screen Scotland, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Film in Mind

My Role: Researcher & Development Producer

Overview

Nucleus is a hybrid feature documentary directed by James Thomson that explores the enduring human and environmental fallout of global nuclear weapons testing. Bypassing standard archival bomb footage and talking-head conventions, the film constructs a sensory cinematic dialogue between listening stations, personal memory, and international diplomacy anchored at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Core Responsibilities & Key Contributions

1. Global Contributor Discovery & Ethical Engagement

Identifying Key Voices: Led the research and development phase to identify and cast the documentary's central contributors, representing geographically and culturally distinct experiences of nuclear violence:

  • Alan Owen (UK): Founder of the British atomic veterans’ charity LABRATS.

  • Diana (Kazakhstan): A 4th-generation survivor of the Semipalatinsk test site on the Kazakh Steppe.

  • Hinamoeura Cross (French Polynesia): Member of Parliament and leukaemia survivor campaigning against the fallout of French atmospheric testing in the Pacific.

Trauma-Informed & Decolonial Frameworks: Grounded in my Social Anthropology background, I implemented strict ethical protocols aligned with the Nuclear Truth Project Protocols (rights, respect, and reciprocity). This ensured contributors maintained agency over their stories and avoided re-traumatisation during sensitive biographical interviews.

Stakeholder Liaising: Partnered closely with international non-governmental organisations, including the Nobel Peace Prize-winning ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), to build community trust and secure contributor buy-in.

2. Access Negotiation & Production Logistics in New York

  • UN Headquarters Access: Negotiated institutional access and production clearances to shoot on location at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during major diplomatic convenings.

  • Cross-Border Production Management: Coordinated international scheduling, compliance, and on-ground logistics for international contributors and crew flying into New York, delivering complex shoot requirements within tight development budgets.

  • Creative Alignment: Facilitated the integration of on-site UN sequences with metaphorical sound-data concepts (linking CTBTO listening stations to the contributors' ancestral homelands) to establish a distinctive narrative framework.

3. Development Strategy & Funder Alignment

  • Narrative & Pitch Packaging: Synthesised complex historical, geopolitical, and scientific data on nuclear test fallout into clear, emotionally compelling development materials, pitch decks, and crowdfunding copy.

  • Public Campaign & Match-Funding: Supported the project’s public-facing rollout, helping the production secure over £12,000 in direct community pledges and positioning the project for secondary development match-funding.

Key Takeaways & Impact

  • Access to High-Security Institutions: Demonstrated ability to liaise with diplomatic bodies, international agencies, and NGOs under strict filming guidelines.

  • Cross-Cultural Story Development: Successfully balanced sensitive human rights research with character-led narrative development across three languages and global territories.

  • Ethical Production Pipeline: Embedded trauma-informed creative methodologies (working alongside specialist facilitators) to ensure contributor wellbeing in high-stakes non-fiction storytelling.

Still from the documentary Nucleus, directed by James Thompson