Experiencing Interruptions?

Under the Cloud

Under the Cloud is a short documentary that examines the ongoing legacy of nuclear violence in the American Southwest, where uranium extraction and nuclear testing have left deep scars on both the land and its people.

Featuring voices like Leona Morgan, a Diné anti-nuclear activist, the film reminds us that nuclear energy and nuclear weapons are inseparable—a fact that remains dangerously overlooked. Alongside her, other community members speak about the destruction of their environment, the health crises that continue to afflict their people, and their resistance to the mining of sacred landsUnder the Cloud is a short documentary that examines the ongoing legacy of nuclear violence in the American Southwest, where uranium extraction and nuclear testing have left deep scars on both the land and its people.

  • Pedro Reyes Alvarez
    Director
  • Pedro Reyes Alvarez
    Writer
  • SITE Santa Fe
    Producer
  • Pamela Limón Ross
    Post-Production
  • Javier Velazquez Dorantes
    Post-Production
  • Luisa Alatorre García
    Editing and found footage
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 27, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • Mubi
    Distributor
    Country: Mexico
    Rights: Internet
Director Biography - Pedro Reyes Alvarez

Pedro Reyes is a multidisciplinary Mexican artist whose work spans between sculpture, architecture, video and collaborative action. With a career dedicated to exploring social and political themes through creative interventions, Reyes focuses on transforming instruments of violence into tools for peace and community engagement. His innovative projects blend art, activism, and education, often addressing issues such as disarmament, nuclear threat, and environmental justice.Reyes has received international recognition for works that reimagine weapons as musical instruments and for interdisciplinary collaborations that promote social change. Under the Cloud continues his commitment to raising awareness about the nuclear industry and its impact on communities, combining archival footage and personal testimonies to reveal the enduring consequences of nuclear weapons testing.Based in Mexico City, Pedro Reyes continues to create art that challenges systems of power while inspiring dialogue and action around pressing global issues.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Throughout the history of cinema, the atomic bomb has been portrayed from two radically different perspectives: from above the mushroom cloud, and from beneath it. Films like Oppenheimer represent the former — they focus on the scientists, on power, on the myth of human transcendence. The victims remain unseen. By contrast, there is a lesser-known lineage of films that I consider to be "under the cloud": films like The Day After (1983) or Threads (1984), which depict life after nuclear catastrophe and the enduring human toll.When I was a child, I watched The Day After nearly 80 times. That film unlocked a primal fear in me — a fear that stayed dormant for decades. Under the Cloud is a response to that memory, and a reckoning with the reality that the threat was never truly gone.