The Canadian short fiction movie „The Moth“ by Michelle Derosier and Zoe Gordon is among the main winners of the 15th Rio de Janeiro International Uranium Film Festival 2026. „The Moth“ received the festival’s Native Spirit Award. The award ceremony took place on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the Cinematheque of the renowned Museum of Modern Art (MAM Rio).
THE MOTH
Canada, 2025, Directors and producers: Michelle Derosier, Zoe Gordon, Cast: Sarah McPherson, Fiction, Language: English, Ojibwe, 19:05 min. – It’s 2039 in Omagakii First Nation. The land has been consumed by lithium mines, and the Nuclear Waste Corporation has buried 100,000 tonnes of Canada’s nuclear waste in the ground. Few were prepared for the disaster. An Ogichidaa-Kwe who refused to evacuate survives in isolation, continuing to love and resist as the world sickens around her.
JURY STATEMENT
„The shortfilm `The Moth´ by indigenous director Michelle Derosier and Zoe Gordon inspired us to create the Native Spirit Award for films that reflect indigenous wisdom, culture and way of thinking, in order to raise awareness against the `Yellow Monster´, as Navajo actor and activist Norman Patrick Brown calls it. What to do after learning that high-level nuclear waste will be dumped on your sacred land? One of the answers to such immense despair is this short fiction. A record of the pain, love, strength, and art of Anishinaabe filmmaker Michelle Derosier. Co-directed by Zoe Gordon, `The Moth´ is the collective response of the cast and crew, deserving of the International Uranium Film Festival`s Native Spirit Award. After all: The audience in the Cinematheque, including around 200 students aged 15 to 19 who were watching `The Moth´ gave Zoe Gordon a rapturous round of applause.“
Márcia Gomes de Oliveira and Norbert Suchanek, directors of the Uranium Film Festival
AWARD ACCEPTANCE STATEMENT
“This year’s Uranium Film Festival was very impactful for me. Our film was among many that showed the heavy burden carried by people and lands that are being used for atomic weapons and power creation, but still it was a celebration. I had a lot of fun and feel inspired, knowing I’m connected to artists around the world who care about these issues.”
Zoe Gordon, The Moth
Photo shows Zoe Gordon together with Brazilian waste-material-artist Victor Damado in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro. He and his father Getúlio are producing the Uranium Film Festival Trophy. Photo by Norbert Suchanek
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
For 15 years the International Uranium Film Festival (IUFF) raises awareness about the risks of atomic power and promotes nuclear disarmament with independent films and panels of experts around the globe. In October 2024, Hollywood’s MovieMaker Magazine named it one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World 2024”. And in 2025, the festival’s founders, Márcia Gomes de Oliveira and Norbert Suchanek, received the prestigious “Nuclear-Free Future Award” in New York City in the category education. The Uranium Film Festival especially in Rio focuses very much on the young generation.
„You’ve never seen two people get more done than the life and project-partner duo Márcia Gomes de Oliveira and Norbert G. Suchanek, who run the International Uranium Film Festival in deep collaboration with activists around the world. The festival has its grand event in Rio, but also does an extensive U.S. tour in regions impacted by uranium-related industry. Inevitably, folks wonder whether there are enough films on the subject to warrant a festival. The answer is yes. This, of course, is because the issue is expansive, impacting all 50 U.S. states and many more corners of the world than most folks realize. From the Navajo Nation to Las Vegas to Chicago and many places between, this spirited DIY art, advocacy, and activism project brings folks together in a space of support, education, shared outrage, and a good time. The Uranium Film Festival is a refreshing example of what activism and advocacy can be: inclusive, expansive, and celebratory.“ Hadley Austin, MovieMaker Magazine
Since the Uranium Film Festival is not sponsored by big companies like other film festivals, it relies on donations. To ensure the festival’s continuation, we appreciate every contribution from those who can afford it. Donate via PAY PAL to info@uraniumfilmfestival.org
