FILM SYNOPSIS:

COUNTDOWN TO ZERO traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident.

Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker (The Devil’s Playground, Blindsight), the film features an array of important international statesmen, including President Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament.

The uncontested star of "Countdown to Zero" is former CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame Wilson.  She warns that those efforts are not likely to be indefinitely successful, and that the only sure course of action is to eliminate such weapons altogether.

CountDown to Zero is another story made in the same activist spirit as An Inconvenient Truth, ending with a similar call for grassroots participation. Luckily for us, getting to zero is possible—step by step. Let’s jump-start the change.

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

Walker grew up in London, England. After directing theater and graduating from Oxford University in Literature she won a Fulbright to attend NYU’s Graduate Film Program, where she earned her MFA, directed short fiction films, and moonlighted as a musician.  Lucy Walker is best known for directing four feature documentaries: DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND (2002), BLINDSIGHT (2006), WASTE LAND (2010) and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO (2010). COUNTDOWN TO ZERO.