Film
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By Ledger Staff · Oct 30, 2026
Forest Whitaker Backs Powerful Nuclear Documentary Ahead of DOC NYC Screening
The Academy Award winner joins Rachid Bouchareb's Boomerang Atomic as an executive producer ahead of its New York premiere.
By Ledger Staff ·
Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker has boarded Rachid Bouchareb's documentary Boomerang Atomic as an executive producer ahead of its New York premiere at DOC NYC next month.
The 22-minute film revisits France's first atomic bomb test, detonated on February 13, 1960, near the remote town of Reggane in Algeria's Sahara Desert, at a time when the country remained under French colonial rule.
Drawing on historical French government archives, Bouchareb traces the human and environmental consequences that continue to affect local communities more than six decades later.
Whitaker praised the documentary's historical authenticity and emotional power, saying the film made an indelible impact on him and needs to be seen by wider audiences.
Boomerang Atomic premiered out of competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and went on to win the Audience Award at the 2026 Seoul International Eco Film Festival.
The film screens at DOC NYC on November 11 at New York's IFC Center, followed by a discussion with Bouchareb and producer Bilal Bouchareb.
The short documentary serves as the first chapter of a broader cinematic exploration of France's nuclear legacy in Algeria, with a related feature film, Reggane, currently in development.