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Film Screening: The Brink of War
Wed, July 22nd, 2026
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EDT)
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
In October 1986, in Reykjavik, Iceland, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev nearly ended decades of nuclear escalation. While the summit collapsed with no firm agreements, it was a breakthrough in arms negotiations between the two nations, exposing opportunities for cooperation that previous treaties could not achieve. One year later, Gorbachev and Reagan returned to the negotiating table, signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, resulting in the elimination of thousands of missiles and over 30 years of cooperation between the great powers.
Join the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy Program and Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies for a sneak preview screening of The Brink of War. This new feature film starring Jeff Daniels, Jared Harris, and J.K. Simmons, tells the story of the Cold War’s fraught final years and those tense days in Reykjavik, when the world stood closer to peace, or annihilation, than ever before, and two leaders found the courage to choose dialogue over destruction.
Writer and director Michael Russell Gunn will sit down with the Carnegie Endowment’s George Perkovich and Georgetown University’s Keir Lieber, to discuss the impact of the Reykjavik Summit and the treaties that followed, and what lessons can be learned as Russia and the United States enter their next nuclear chapter following the expiration of the New START treaty. A light reception will accompany the screening.
Presented in partnership with:
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.
Michael Russell Gunn
Director, The Brink of War
The Brink of War is Michael's directorial debut. His recent credits include showrunning Netflix's limited series Thai Cave Rescue. He also wrote for Billions, Designated Survivor, and The Newsroom. His feature script Alone at Dawn is currently in post with Ron Howard directing and starring Anne Hathaway and Adam Driver for Amazon. He holds degrees from Clemson, Cambridge, and Boston University.
Keir Lieber
Professor, Georgetown University
Keir Lieber is a Professor in the Security Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service and Department of Government at Georgetown University. His research and teaching interests include nuclear weapons, deterrence, and strategy, and he is co-author, with Daryl Press of Dartmouth College, of The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution: Power Politics in the Atomic Age (Cornell University Press, 2020).