Chernobyl: Men of Steel (2022) on Netflix

Samosely are the people who did not come to terms with the forced evacuation after the Chernobyl disaster. They returned to their homes to live on the land of their fathers.

The film "Chernobyl: Men of steel" tells the story of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster from the point of view of the Samosely - the indigenous inhabitants of the villages depopulated by radioactive contamination. Not agreeing with the decision of the Soviet authorities, they returned to their villages, where they live out their days. There are only a few dozen of them left. They are dying out along with the story that the world did not want to hear so far. Among them are people who did not know what radiation was, as well as those who were directly involved in helping the first victims of a nuclear reactor explosion. According to various estimates, there were initially between 1,600 and 3,000 of them, but only a few dozen have survived to this day. These are very elderly people, cut off from stores, running water and sometimes even electricity. Despite this, they persistently defend their land and their beliefs. The humanitarian action to help the inhabitants of the zone, which is presented in the film, has been taking place since 2017 with a fixed line-up: Amadeusz Kocan, Krystian Machnik, Maciej Bogaczyk.

—Producer