About the Film
“We had no idea what it takes to find cures or vaccines.
We stumbled on this story, and despite some significant hurdles, we were glued to its outcome.”
~ Lisa Hepner, Director
More than a decade in the making, The Human Trial follows a groundbreaking clinical trial that peels back the headlines to show the sweat, passion and sacrifice behind every breakthrough cure. It interweaves the stories of the patients -- who have borne the physical and financial burdens of type 1 diabetes (T1D) — with the researchers who epitomize the struggle of innovating cures. Director Lisa Hepner — whose own T1D fuels her search for a cure — becomes the bridge between these two worlds. The narrative arc is the clinical trial itself.
Director’s Statement
The Human Trial was inspired by my quest to learn why there hasn't been a cure for type 1 diabetes — a disease I've struggled with for over thirty years.
When I was diagnosed, I was told the cure was "five years away.” But I'm still waiting, and now dealing with the long-term complications associated with the disease. And there are many. Last year, 6.7 million people died from diabetes. That's the population of Madrid or the combined population of Utah and Connecticut.
Yet there is real hope on the horizon. Eight years after we began filming, the science is working!
But our work isn’t done. We need to accelerate this breakthrough research by tearing a page out of the Covid-19 vaccine playbook. The swift rollout of the vaccine showed us what's possible when the public and private sector collaborate, and when funding isn’t an issue. Let’s apply these hard-won lessons to curing type 1 diabetes and other chronic disease. Miracles don’t just happen.
— Lisa Hepner
About The Filmmakers
Lisa Hepner | DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER
Lisa and her partner Guy Mossman run LA-based Vox Pop Films, a production company specializing in non-fiction content and commercials. For the last 25 years, Lisa has produced a variety of films and programs for Sony Pictures Classics, HBO, A&E, PBS, Lifetime, Discovery, MTV, TLC, and the CBC. She has produced for acclaimed directors Jonathan Demme, Michael Apted, Julie Taymor, and Lisa F. Jackson, among others. When she wasn’t in the field, Lisa worked at the PBS station, 13-WNET, producing a variety of programs, including the Emmy Award winning series, Air: America’s Investigative Reports. In 2003, she co-directed the feature doc, Peace by Peace: Women on the Frontlines. Shot in Afghanistan, Argentina, Burundi, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the US, the film premiered at the UN in 2003 and aired on PBS in 2004. Lisa is a member of the WGA and PGA. She has lived with type 1 diabetes for 30 years, for about as long as she’s worked in film and TV. This is Lisa’s feature directorial debut.
Guy Mossman | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Guy Mossman is a cinematographer who made his first short film in 2000 in Paraguay. In 2002, he was awarded a prestigious Park Fellowship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to pursue an M.A. in Journalism and Documentary Filmmaking. He is best known for his dramatic photography on award-winning documentary films, including Feels Good Man, Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump, Chasing the Cure, Bending The Arc, Undiagnosed, Buck, and Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work. He most recently collaborated with David France on his forthcoming HBO documentary, How to Survive a Pandemic.
Jonathan Formica, p.g.a. | PRODUCER
Jonathan Formica is a Los Angeles based independent documentary filmmaker and producer whose work is dedicated to telling nuanced stories that engage, educate, and challenge audience perspectives. With a strong passion for scientific advancement and social justice, he has filmed across four continents and produced over eighty shoots. Jonathan has worked with Vox Pop Films for the past decade where he oversaw a diverse slate of commercial and branded-film work while producing the feature documentary, The Human Trial (2022). He is currently working with Academy Award® Winning Tremolo Productions on an untitled feature documentary slated for 2023 release.
Kristin Lesko, p.g.a. | PRODUCER
Kristin Lesko is a creative producer with nearly two decades of experience producing documentary films and non-fiction content. In that time, she has contributed to many award-winning documentary projects by some of the industry’s premiere directors. Her credits include co-producer on Ezra Edelman’s Oscar-winning film OJ: Made in America (2016) for ESPN 30 for 30, the Oscar-nominated film Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2008) for WETA, as well as Makers: Women in Politics (2014) directed by Grace Lee and produced by Rory Kennedy. Kristin began her film career working with veteran documentary filmmaker, Stanley Nelson, on a variety of films for public television including Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) for American Experience and Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice (2005) for American Masters.
Scott Stevenson, ACE | EDITOR
Scott Stevenson, a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the UCLA Film and Television School, is a Franco-American film editor based in both Paris and Los Angeles. He works in both narrative and unscripted, in French and in English; films he has cut have been to Sundance, Tribeca, Hot Docs and Cannes. In addition to editorial nominations and awards, several of the films he collaborated on have received major recognition: La Haine won both the Best Director award in Cannes and the César (the French Oscar) for best film; Very Semi-Serious received the News and Doc Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming; The Staircase was given a Peabody, a Columbia/DuPont and an IDA award, and Sin City Law also took home the IDA award for Best Documentary Series. Most recently, LA 92 was honored by an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, as well as the Television Academy's Honors award, recognizing programs that have inspired social change, and the Netflix series Flint Town received multiple "Best Doc Series" nominations.
Susan Metzger | EDITOR
Susan Metzger is a Los Angeles based film editor, producer, and director. She most recently collaborated with directors Cheri Gaulke and Cheryl Bookout to edit their short documentary, Inside the Beauty Bubble. Other editing credits include Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, which will air on POV in July 2022; City Rising - The Informal Economy and MOTHER X ARTIST for PBS that won 2019 LA Press Club Journalism awards and were nominated for Emmys. Susan’s directorial debut, the short film The Red Ace Cola Project was honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Miriam Cutler | COMPOSER
Three time Emmy-nominated Composer, Miriam Cutler has an extensive background in scoring for independent film & TV projects, as well as two circuses. She wrote the scores for RBG (CNN) and Dark Money (PBS) which both premiered at Sundance 2017 and Love, Gilda (CNN) which premiered at Tribeca 2018. All three films had theatrical releases with RBG being one of the highest earning documentaries ever. RBG was nominated for an Oscar and four 2019 Primetime Emmys (1 for score), winning 1 Emmy. Love, Gilda was nominated for two Primetime Emmys (one for score). Other highlights include BAFTA nominated Lost In La Mancha, Emmy winners One Last Hug, Vito, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, Desert of Forbidden Art (score also nominated); Oscar-nominated shorts Poster Girl and Kings Point; Emmy nominated Ethel, Thin, and Pandemic: Facing Aids. Sundance Special Doc Jury Prize winners American Promise and License To Kill.
Amy Rapp | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Amy Rapp is an Emmy-winning creative producer, developing and producing narrative and documentary films and television. She launched and has run Meredith Vieira Productions for the past 12 years and recently launched her own production company, Amy Rapp Productions, in which she continues to develop and produce narrative and documentary projects, often based on, or inspired by true stories or real people. Her credits include Return, The Woman Who Wasn’t There, Tower, and After The Murder of Albert Lima. Her films have premiered and won top awards at festivals including Cannes, SXSW, and DOCNYC, and have won and been nominated for awards including the Emmy, Critics Choice, and Producers Guild Awards. She is about to begin her next feature doc about the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Amy was born, raised, and resides in New York City.
Marla Oringer | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Marla has been a passionate T1D advocate since her two sons were diagnosed as children. Over the past 25 years, she has invested in and helped nurture companies and organizations centered around improving the lives of those living with diabetes both T1D/T2D.
Her involvement includes angel investing, forging strategic partnerships, advising on how to maximize marketing initiatives and garner awareness for the cause and the supporting organizations.
Greer Wylder | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
The one-time columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Greer has made a sterling reputation for providing the latest information on SoCal fashion and food to her loyal followers. A former actress and model, Greer uses her influence to raise awareness and funds for type 1 diabetes research. Greer is the mother of four boys, ranging in age from 21 to 32, and she’s passionate about Type 1 diabetes awareness and raising funds for a cure. She is currently writing a book about growing up in Orange County.