Once The Dust Settles

Three places destroyed by a major disaster: Amatrice in central Italy by an earthquake, Chernobyl in Ukraine by a nuclear catastrophe, and Aleppo by war. Once the Dust Settles shows what happens when the dust has settled, and the camera crews have left. The film centers around the evocative stories of survivors who are trying to rebuild their lives, against the background of emerging disaster tourism in poignant locations: the only survivor from the control room at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, one of the best tour guides in Syria, and the pastor of Amatrice, once a tourist town, now destroyed beyond recognition.

• Writers: John Appel
• Producers: Carmen Cobos, Kees Rijninks
• Cinematographer / DOP: Erik van Empel
• Editor: Mario Steenbergen, John Appel