Imagine what a diabetes-free world would look like. Significant reduction in pain, suffering and unnecessary death. And as a bonus, perhaps a significant reduction in drug advertising.
The goal is far away, but not as far as you can imagine. Married documentaries Lisa Hepner and Guy Mosman spent more than five years producing “The Human Trial.” The film records a research company’s quest for treatment and tracks two diabetics who advocated themselves as subjects.
The movie begins with a video of Hoepner measuring his blood sugar. As a person with type 1 diabetes, she personally invests in this subject. Her narration talks about the 2014 discovery of Via Cyte, a San Diego company that develops treatments that can transplant insulin-producing stem cells into patients. (This is certainly a simple explanation of what treatment means. The film is explained in more detail with clarity and patience.)
For several years, the filmmaker has been watching two diabetics, Maren and Gregory. They can be transplanted with modules that release stem cells. You can see that his blood sugar level is low. But is this a placebo effect? The film is dull in expressing the emotional ups and downs of the patient and shows the sometimes tired realism of the researcher. There is also another type of fatigue. Via Cyte is constantly in need of new funding.
Filmed primarily in hospital waiting rooms, offices and conference rooms, “The Human Trial” is not a visually dynamic film. But it builds a good brain in the conspiracy department of the story before it is settled with a modest note of hope.
Human clinical trials
Unrated. Execution time: 1 hour 31 minutes.Theater and Virtual cinema..
