NEW YORK, August 28 — The UN Movie Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council is set to host a live global launch on the UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests, featuring a conversation with filmmaker Michael Russell Gunn about his film THE BRINK OF WAR. On Saturday, 29 August 2026, at 9:00am EST, the event will stream live on the UN’s YouTube channel and WebTV, offering audiences worldwide a chance to engage with the director’s vision of the 1986 Reykjavík Summit.
THE BRINK OF WAR dramatizes the tense, closed-door negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev inside Höfði House, capturing their rare moment of mutual trust amid Cold War tensions. The film highlights how their dialogue, though ultimately unsuccessful in finalizing an entire arms agreement, laid the groundwork for a landmark treaty that eliminated an entire class of nuclear missiles. Michael Russell Gunn, director of THE BRINK OF WAR, brings the story to life through a narrative that underscores the power of direct communication in averting global catastrophe.
Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director of the UN Movie Society, emphasized the film’s role in reinforcing the United Nations’ core values of peace, human dignity, and diplomatic engagement. The screening aligns with the UN Secretary-General’s message for the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, which calls for renewed commitment to dialogue and disarmament.
Music for the event will be performed by the UN Chamber Music Society, featuring a viola and piano arrangement of Brahms’ Six Pieces for Piano, Op.118: 2. Intermezzo in A Major, Andante teneramente. On 28 August, the United Nations Postal Administration will release new postage stamps depicting six landmarks in Vatican City as part of its World Heritage series, underscoring themes of human dignity and universal rights.
Organizers expressed gratitude to the UN Department of Global Communications, the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, and Angel Sarah Amro Junket Productions, Inc. for their support in producing the event. With the film’s focus on leadership and moral courage, the conversation aims to inspire renewed global reflection on the path toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.
