Thirty-five years ago, Bruce Beach started construction on the Ark Two, an underground nuclear fallout shelter he designed and built himself. The structure is made up of 42 school buses linked together and buried under 12 feet of concrete and earth.

Over the years, the project has attracted the attention of people across the world and has been met with differing opinions – from other ‘preppers’ who celebrate it, to folks who think the whole idea is crazy.

You Will Survive Doomsday is a short documentary exploring the beliefs and decisions that shaped Bruce’s unconventional journey.

Creative team

Director/producer/editor: Kyle McDougall

Filmmaker’s statement

Bruce and the Ark Two shelter have been well documented over the years, making appearances on shows such as National Geographic’s Doomsday Preppers and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, as well as many other news and media websites.

As I researched his story, I noticed a common theme among all of the media coverage: those stories tended to focus purely on his unconventional beliefs and often exaggerated his personality and lifestyle. Knowing the importance of the Ark Two project and the energy that Bruce put into it, I was more interested in exploring the ‘why’ behind his actions.

Over the process of creating this film, the person I got to know is someone who is kind, caring and driven. Bruce is strong in his beliefs, but by no means imposing or closed-minded. He’s simply true to himself and I hope his story encourages others to be as well.

About Kyle McDougall

Kyle McDougall is a documentary filmmaker based out of Muskoka, Ontario.

After graduating from film school in 2006, Kyle worked in the television industry for six years as a director of photography and editor, before moving on to start a production company with a partner, creating work in the commercial and non-fiction realms.

Kyle launched his current company, Outpost Visuals, in 2018, with the intention of focusing solely on his true passion for documentary filmmaking.