The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced that the acclaimed documentary Atomic Reaction is officially nominated for Best History Documentary at the 13th annual Canadian Screen Awards, marking another milestone in the film’s remarkable journey through festivals, reviews, and public dialogue.
Hosted by comedian Lisa Gilroy, this year’s Canadian Screen Awards will take place in Toronto on June 1, streaming live in its entirety on CBC Gem. The nomination recognizes Atomic Reaction’s powerful storytelling and its role in sparking critical conversations around Canada’s long-overlooked connection to the Manhattan Project and nuclear history.
“We’re overjoyed to see this Canadian story getting recognized by the Screen Awards and hope it helps to bring more attention to this important part of Canadian history. Thanks for the nomination. It’s appreciated,” said Bernie Finkelstein, executive producer of the film.
Directed by Emmy Award winner Michèle Hozer, and co-produced by David Hatch of WhistleStop Productions, Atomic Reaction delves into the complex and often troubling history of uranium mining in Canada, the country’s pivotal contribution to the atomic bomb, and the lasting health and environmental impacts still felt by Indigenous communities today.
The documentary has been widely praised for its gripping narrative and meticulous research. In a glowing review, Original Cin critic Liz Braun called the film “a quietly gripping documentary” and noted, “Nothing about this story can be safely relegated to the past.” The film has also been honoured with a Best Local Feature award at the 2025 Belleville Downtown DocFest and received an Honourable Mention at the 2024 International Uranium Film Festival in Rio De Janeiro.
Atomic Reaction is currently airing on the CBC Documentary Channel and streaming on CBC Gem, where it continues to reach audiences across Canada. Through powerful archival footage and compelling interviews, it lays bare a “strange and sorry chapter in our history” and positions Canada not as a peripheral player, but as a central force in the atomic age.
The film’s three creative leads bring a combined legacy of excellence in music, media, and filmmaking. Finkelstein, a legendary music executive and Order of Canada recipient, brings decades of cultural influence to the project. Hatch, the founder of WhistleStop Productions, has helmed hundreds of hours of original programming and multiple award-nominated documentaries. Hozer, whose filmography includes Shake Hands with the Devil and Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, once again proves her ability to distill complex, emotional history into unforgettable cinema.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, with more than 4,000 members across film, television, and digital media, is the largest non-profit professional media arts organization in the country. Its annual Canadian Screen Awards were created in 2013 through the merger of the former Genie and Gemini Awards and are considered the gold standard of excellence in Canadian screen-based storytelling.
With its nomination for Best History Documentary, Atomic Reaction joins a slate of outstanding films that challenge, inform, and inspire. And as Canada’s nuclear legacy continues to be debated, this recognition couldn’t be more timely.
