Top 10 Films and TV Series About the Chernobyl Disaster
1. Chernobyl
(USA, TV series, 2019, IMDB rating 9,3, Kinopoisk rating 8,8) The HBO series became a cult classic and sparked a renewed interest in the Chernobyl disaster worldwide. Tourists began visiting the exclusion zone again. Fans of the series were eager to immerse themselves in the events by visiting the actual disaster site in Pripyat.
2. "Butterflies"
(Ukraine, TV series, 2013, IMDB rating 7,3, Kinopoisk 7,9) — a Ukrainian series dedicated to the 27th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. One of the last projects in which Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers and actors collaborated.
3. "Chernobyl Grandmothers"
(USA, documentary, 2015, IMDB rating 7,9, Kinopoisk 7,2) — the film tells the incredible story of about a hundred women who, after the disaster and evacuation in 1986, returned to the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant and lived there—semi-officially—for many years.
4) "Chernobyl. Fukushima. Life After"
(France, documentary, 2016, IMDB rating 7,2) — A French director approaches the Chernobyl tragedy from a comparative perspective. Olivier Julien personally travels to the sites of man-made disasters in the former USSR and Japan. Together with his team, the director explores the area, interviews government officials, and speaks with victims and evacuees about the events of the past, their perceptions of the present, and their hopes for the future.
5) "Chernobyl: Exclusion Zone"
(Russia, TV series, 2 seasons, 2014-2017, IMDB rating 7,2, Kinopoisk 7,8) — the first live-action series about the Chernobyl tragedy, partly filmed in Pripyat. Five young people lead boring lives. Everything changes when the apartment of one of their parents is robbed by a mysterious criminal. Without a second thought, the friends climb into an old Volga and set off in pursuit. Their journey leads them to the city of Pripyat. What's more, they find themselves transported back in time, where they are faced with the opportunity to unravel the causes of the accident and prevent a catastrophe.
6) "Chernobyl: The Final Warning"
(USA-USSR, feature film, 1991, IMDB rating 6,2, Kinopoisk 6,3) In 1991, director Anthony Page came to the USSR with the goal of making a film about the Chernobyl disaster for American audiences. However, it was only several years later that his work was seen by television viewers in Russia. The film became one of the last joint film projects between the Soviet Union and the United States. The screenplay is based on the book by American physician Robert Gale. In 1988, he led the international medical team that provided assistance to liquidators affected by radiation exposure.
7) "Black Flower"
(Ukraine, TV series, 2016, IMDB rating 5,5, Kinopoisk 5,9) The release of the Ukrainian series coincided with the 30th anniversary of the disaster. Lera, a teacher training college graduate, is assigned to Pripyat. It is here that she meets the love of her life, nuclear engineer Vitas. But the events of April 1986 irrevocably changed their lives.
8) "On Saturday"
(Russia, feature film, 2011, IMDB rating 5,5, Kinopoisk 5,2) – unfortunately, not the most successful film by screenwriter and director Alexander Mindadze. The film was presented in the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. The central theme of the film is the social ignorance faced by the protagonist, Valery Kabysh. He can't figure out how to resist the system or whether it's worth his time at all.
9) Chernobyl
(Russia, feature film, 2020, IMDB rating 5,2, Kinopoisk 4,8) – our response to the success of the American series. Danila Kozlovsky stars as the director and the main character, a young firefighter in Pripyat who dreams of rekindling his lost love and moving to live by the sea. His plans are ruined by the explosion of the fourth reactor. Unfortunately, the series failed to match or surpass the American series.
10) "After Chernobyl"
(Russia, feature film, 2021, IMDB rating 3,3, Kinopoisk 4,5) – a thriller and horror film. The authors emphasize the paranormal element: American tourists encounter otherworldly forces in the Zone.
