Victor, in his early 20s, works at the town hall and lives with his girlfriend Charlotte, who is expecting their first child. When an incident happens at the nearby nuclear power plant, he and his high school friends are forced to confine themselves inside a farmhouse, whereas they should have evacuated the area. As the rain is threatening, they are keeping an eye out for the radioactive cloud. The next 24 hours will be crucial.

ATOMIC SUMMER occupies a special place in today’s young French cinema: straddling “disaster films” and “teen movies”, this singular feature film reveals the talent of its director Gaël Lépingle. After Rebecca Zlotowski’s GRAND CENTRAL (2013) and Sébastien Marnier’s ecological thriller SCHOOL’S OUT (2018), here we have a drama of anticipation that skillfully depicts the repercussions of a major nuclear disaster in the heart of France. Viewers hold their breath through the film’s tense narrative carried by promising actors, including Shaïn Boumedine (MEKTOUB MY LOVE), and a real discovery, the newcomer Théo Augier.