Aldermaston Pottery

Aldermaston Pottery inspires an expectant mother's awareness of matters of life and death in this avant-garde film.

"First baby. It's the greatest mystery in the world." A pregnant woman contemplates the wonder of new life while craftsmen work at Aldermaston Pottery in this rhythmically mesmerising, unsettling film. Intercut at jarring intervals are images of the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, combined with a terse male voice which speaks of its destructive power.

Aldermaston Pottery operated in the Berkshire village from 1955 until 2006. The nearby presence of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, on the former site of RAF Aldermaston, evidently influenced the themes of this film.