Forest Whitaker Joins Rachid Bouchareb’s ‘Boomerang Atomic’ Ahead of DOC NYC Premiere

The Oscar-winning actor will serve as executive producer of a documentary examining France’s first nuclear test in Algeria and its enduring human and environmental consequences.

Academy Award-winning actor and producer Forest Whitaker has joined “Boomerang Atomic,” a documentary short by French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb, as executive producer ahead of its New York premiere at DOC NYC in November.

The film revisits February 13, 1960, when France detonated its first atomic bomb near Reggane in the Algerian Sahara, then under French colonial rule. More than six decades later, the test remains a source of concern over radiation exposure, environmental contamination and the treatment of communities affected by France’s nuclear program.

“I was impressed with the historical authenticity and powerful emotional impact,” Whitaker said. “This important documentary made an indelible impact on me and needs to be seen.”

Whitaker said the film had brought the consequences of the testing into sharper focus, particularly for the local population. “Rachid has unveiled the misuse of the testing and its long-range consequences on the local populations and land,” he said. “The film sheds a necessary light on the devastation and makes you think about what its usage would mean in warfare today.”

Rather than reconstruct events through interviews or contemporary narration, Bouchareb relies entirely on French state archives, allowing the original images and official commentary to stand on their own. The approach gives audiences an opportunity to examine how the French government documented its nuclear ambitions, while considering the experiences that went unrecorded.

“Through this documentary, I aim to revisit the French nuclear test in Reggane on 13 February 1960: France’s first atomic explosion on Algerian soil,” Bouchareb said. “This is not only about recounting a historical event, but about giving voice to the archival images of the time and their commentary, while shedding light on the health, environmental and human consequences that remain today.”

The documentary is the first installment of a larger project that will continue with “Reggane,” a narrative feature in development with American and Japanese co-producers. The planned film will explore the lives of local residents, soldiers and workers exposed to radioactive fallout, extending the historical account into a story about the people directly affected.

Bouchareb has spent much of his career examining France’s colonial past, immigration and the experiences of communities frequently excluded from mainstream historical narratives. He founded 3B Productions in 1990, and three of his films — “Dust of Life” (1995), “Days of Glory” (2006) and “Outside the Law” (2010) — received Academy Award nominations in the international film category.

Following its selection at the Venice International Film Festival, “Boomerang Atomic” has screened internationally, including at the Timimoun Short Festival, Carthage International Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Arab Film Festival Berlin and Millennium Docs Against Gravity.

The documentary also received the Audience Award at the 2026 Seoul International Eco Film Festival. Other festival selections include Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, the Paris Science Film Festival and the Doha Film Festival.

In Hiroshima, Japan, the film was presented by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) during commemorations dedicated to peace, remembrance, nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. It also screened at the Hiroshima Peace Film Festival, connecting the Algerian history of atomic testing to international discussions of nuclear weapons.

“Boomerang Atomic” will screen November 11 at the IFC Center as part of DOC NYC’s “Shorts: Hidden Histories” program, followed by a conversation with Bouchareb and producer Bilal Bouchareb.

The 22-minute documentary is currently seeking distribution. Whitaker’s involvement comes as Bouchareb works to bring a little-known chapter of nuclear history to wider international audiences.