BEHIND EVERY BREAKTHROUGH ARE THOSE WHO RISK EVERYTHING FOR EVERYBODY ELSE.
In 2011, filmmaker Lisa Hepner heard about a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, a disease that kills more than five million people each year. Driven by a desire to cure her own type 1 diabetes, the filmmakers secured unprecedented, real-time access to a clinical trial in San Diego —only the sixth-ever embryonic stem cell trial in the world. What follows is an intimate journey with the patients and scientists who put themselves on the line to be first. In the world of biotech and medical research, there are no tidy solutions.
ACCLAIM FOR THE HUMAN TRIAL
“This is a deeply personal and emotional film about a disease that should’ve been cured by now. Let’s watch this film, share this film, and hopefully with it we can shine a light on cure research and help catalyze future advancements.”
“This is humanity in its face.”
“There are triumphs and disappointments, but in the end there has been progress made on single-cell treatment for type 1 diabetes. That’s an incredible thing to witness in the film.”
“While the film follows a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, it goes so much deeper than that. You can’t help but reflect on the real-life mirror the film offers.”
“The Human Trial pulls back the curtain on cure research and inspires us to do better. If your life has been touched by diabetes, then you know we need a cure now, like yesterday.”
“The Human Trial is one of those rare, amazing documentaries that can change the way you think about the world.”