The Human Trial

Synopsis

When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 21, I was told the cure was five years away: “Stay strong the cure is on the horizon.” But thirty years later, I’m still waiting. While I was busy trying to outrun my disease, it was wreaking havoc on my organs. Now I’m dealing with the complications of hiding behind the façade of normalcy. Alarmingly, 6.7 million people have died from diabetes in 2021 alone. That's the population of Madrid.

As our film shows, it doesn’t have to be this way. The cure for type 1 diabetes is no longer an empty promise that’s “five years away.” There’s reason to be hopeful if we support pioneering research in a meaningful way.

The swift rollout of a vaccine for Covid-19 showed us that we are capable of innovating in ways we didn’t think possible. It showed us how critical clinical trials are to support breakthrough research. It showed us what's possible when the public and private sector collaborate, and when funding isn’t an issue. In a post-pandemic world, how do we apply these hard-won lessons to curing other disease and chronic illness? How do we un-glue ourselves from an outdated model of biomedical research?

When Guy and I started making The Human Trial, we had no idea that our film would mirror the headlines of a breakthrough vaccine ten years later. Unwittingly, our first-person narrative captured the zeitgeist of how cure research should be conducted.

- Lisa Hepner, DIRECTOR

Theatrical screenings to come in July 2022.

Credits

Director: Lisa Hepner
Producers: Amy Rapp, Marla & Robert Oringer, Greer Wylder
Writer: Lisa Hepner
Cinematographer: Guy Mossman
Editors: Susan Metzger,
Scott Stevenson
Music: Miriam Cutler

Press and Reviews

"Builds narrative intrigue before resolving on a low-key note of hope."
The New York Times: “The Race for a Diabetes Cure”

“When diabetes is finally defeated, this film will be an important contribution to our understanding of the processes through which that came about. In the meantime, it is a tribute to the scientists, doctors and volunteers who are doing their bit to get us there.”
Jennie Kermode Eye for Film