Guardians of the Formula

Dragan Bjelogrlic's film recounts the reactor accident at the Vinca Nuclear Institute near Belgrade in 1958. Six Yugoslav scientists exposed to a high dose of radiation are sent to Paris for treatment. The film's second centre is there. At the Curie Institute, Professor Georges Mathe attempts marrow transplants using unrelated donors, a procedure being applied for the first time anywhere. Alexis Manenti plays Mathe. The narrative sets the two sides of the Cold War beside each other: Yugoslavia's ambition for a nuclear programme and the French medical establishment taking an experimental risk. It is adapted from a novel by Goran Milasinovic and is a co-production of Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. Who it's for: those interested in the history of science and Cold War drama. Who it's not for: viewers who want to avoid illness and medical procedure on screen; the film shows the treatment in detail.