​Central to the design of both the Australian Citizens' Jury as well as its global counterpart – the Global Citizens Assembly on Genome Editing – is its ambition to provoke a global conversation about genome editing.  We teamed up with Genepool Productions—an Emmy-award winning production company—in association with December Media, to film this event to capture the excitement, pressures, hard work, and intense discussions. ​

 

Segments of the citizens' jury will be featured in 'Mutant' – a documentary about how citizens of the world might weigh in on one of the most consequential and complicated issues of scientific ethics. 

 

This project is developed with the assistance of Screen Australia, Film Victoria and SBS Television. SBS Television and ARTE France have come on board as broadcast partners of the documentary series.

 

“SBS are hugely excited by the potential of this new documentary series ‘Mutant’. It promises to be a unique social experiment that explores the intersection of science, ethics, diversity of opinion and how we make the big decisions about our future.”

Joseph Maxwell, Head of Documentaries SBS​

 

Like Genepool Production’s prize-winning films Vitamania: The Sense and Nonsense of Vitamins and Jabbed: Love, Fear and Vaccines, the documentary on genome editing will be beautifully crafted, illuminating, and deeply moving. Each story will build on the complexity and extend the global audience’s understanding of science and its challenges. Each episode of the documentary provokes a question, a conundrum at its core. What’s okay? What’s not?

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The third and final part of the series will cover the selected jurors and their route to the Global Citizens’ Assembly. Screen time will be spent on assembly deliberations interspersed with blue-chip science shorts looking at who controls the technology and how any guidelines might be implemented.

 

“Following global participants on this epic journey will be a privilege – and an adventure. It will be incredibly exciting to witness what people from very different backgrounds think is OK, or not. Will they find common ground?

Can they help shape the future of genome editing?”

Sonya Pemberton, Genepool Productions

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The documentary series will have global appeal and will be screened in various outlets including national broadcasters (currently under negotiation). It will present a compelling story of what happens when citizens from different cultures and contexts come together to deliberate on some of the most challenging ethical dilemmas in contemporary times. ‘Mutant’ will be an epic, cinematic and provocative television series capturing an unprecedented international social experiment.

 

“It’s really exciting to be part of this landmark event – where the filmmaking is a key component of the science of democratising one of the most significant issues of our time.”

Tony Wright, December Media