‘Make People Better,’ screening at the Roxie Saturday as part of the Green Film Festival, is as much a mystery as it is a documentary.

By John Seal Oct. 06, 2022, 1:32 p.m.

In Walter Besant’s 1888 novel The Inner House, a scientist makes a medical discovery that allows human beings to live forever; his discovery is adopted by the state and shared with the people, but future generations find themselves devolving into brainless, loveless and purposeless automatons. While the novel is poorly written and resolutely Victorian, it does make a good point: Our mortality is our driving force. For better or worse, we don’t have great deal of time to navel gaze.

In Make People Better (screening at the Roxie Theater at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, as part of this year’s Green Film Festival of San Francisco), we learn that 21st century scientists are working on gene therapy that — while unlikely to guarantee immortality — may be able to fix flaws in our DNA that currently cause hereditary disease and birth defects. The film focuses on idealistic Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who — inspired by American geneticist George Church (currently involved in a CIA-funded effort to resurrect the woolly mammoth) — took the science to its logical conclusion by “creating” genetically edited twin babies for an anonymous, HIV-infected Chinese couple.

Directed by Cody Sheedy, Make People Better is as much a mystery as it is a documentary. While focusing on the serious ethical questions raised by He’s work, it also criticizes the scientific community that opportunistically abandoned him and the Chinese government that disappeared and then imprisoned him. It’s captivating and edge-of-your-seat stuff that reminded me of one of Frankenstein’s most powerful moments.

THE PLAYLIST – May 4, 2022 – “’Make People Better’ Review: A Fascinating Look At The Ethics Surrounding Human Genome Modification [Hot Docs]” by Christian Gallichio

‘Make People Better’ Review: A Fascinating Look At The Ethics Surrounding Human Genome Modification [Hot Docs]

+++++

REALSCREEN – May 5, 2022 – “Hot Docs ’22: “Make People Better” explores gene editing and ethics of ‘designer babies’” by Justin Anderson

https://realscreen.com/2022/05/05/hot-docs-22-make-people-better-explores-gene-editing-and-ethics-of-designer-babies/

Gleaming skyscrapers reflect the neon lights of a bustling metropolis. A rogue genetic scientist is said to be performing unethical and possibly illegal experiments on human subjects. Shadowy figures who might work for a powerful government — or an even more powerful corporation — close in on their prey hiding in an anonymous hotel. It sounds like the stuff of a globe-trotting cyberpunk thriller, but it’s actually the new documentary Make People Better, from filmmaker Cody Sheehy.

++++

IMDB – May 4, 2022 – “’Make People Better’ Review: A Fascinating Look At The Ethics Surrounding Human Genome Modification [Hot Docs]” by Christian Gallichio

https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63617252

*Pick up from The Playlist

Exploring the contentious debate surrounding germline editing within human embryos, Cody Sheehy’s documentary “Make People Better” is, like its subject, a complicated dive into the practicalities and ethics of genetic modification. Using the story of Dr. He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist who created the first genetically edited babies — Lulu and Nana — in late 2018, as a guiding framework, Sheehy’s film is perhaps too wonky in its delivery, but its subject matter nevertheless makes for a fascinating dive into the ethical quandaries around human genetic modification, even if it is a bit one-sided in the end.

Industry Buzz is building for the Make People Better documentary. See what they are saying.

THE TORONTO STAR – April 25, 2022 – “12 films that are good bets at Hot Docs 2022” by Peter Howell

Imagine if you could tinker with human embryos so that babies could be born with superstrong bones or muscles that needed less exercise to grow. Such speculative science came closer to reality in 2018, when Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui announced he’d created the world’s first gene-edited babies, twin girls known only as Lulu and Nana. But what is applauded as progress in science fiction was greeted in real life with considerable alarm expressed by medical ethicists, who fretted about “rogue” research, and by Chinese government officials, who wanted the story controlled and ultimately hushed. Cody Sheehy’s pulse-raising doc explores the many sides of this hot-button issue, with testimonials from medical experts and also the crusading journalist who broke the story. Sheehy also gains access to previously unseen interviews with Dr. He, a man who claims he only wanted to do what title says: make people better.

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/opinion/2022/04/25/12-films-that-are-good-bets-at-hot-docs-2022.html

REAL SCREEN – March 22, 2022 – Hot Docs ’22: 11 films added to Special Presentations slate By Andrew Jeffrey

Make People Better, a documentary from filmmaker Cody Sheehy, will now make its world premiere at this year’s Hot Docs. The doc covers the investigation into a rogue Chinese biophysicist’s disappearance after developing the first designer babies.

https://realscreen.com/2022/03/22/hot-docs-22-11-films-added-to-special-presentations-slate/

MOVIE PIE – April 19, 2022 – “Hot Docs 2022: #1: 10 Films We’re Psyched to see!” by Vickie Reichardt

Make People Better

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love docs that make me feel like I get a teeny bit smarter just for having watched. And I’m hoping this thriller about genome-edited embryos proves to be a fascinating and informative successor to one of my brain-food faves from Hot Docs 2019: Human Nature.

https://moviepie.com/hot-docs-2022-1-10-films-were-psyched-to-see/