War in the Blood, directed by Arthur Cary for Minnow Films, is an award winning BBC documentary, following the ground-breaking ‘first in-human’ trials for CAR T-cell therapy at UCLH.
CAR T-Cell clinical trials are testing new treatments which ‘re-programme’ the immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells, providing a more efficient and less toxic way of treating cancer.
To watch the documentary online, login to Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/347541240.
From director Arthur Cary
“Not allowed to meet and separated by two floors of a hospital, 53-year-old Graham and 18-year old-Mahmoud are nevertheless bound together by their commitment to the treatment and their faith in the science. Terminally ill, the trial represents their only option. How do their ages and life experiences affect their physical and emotional response?
For Martin Pule, the scientist who has developed the treatment, the responsibility of curing patients is both exciting and daunting. He knows he stands on the cusp of a breakthrough that could radically change the way we treat cancer.
At the heart of this film is the complex relationship between the patients and the clinical team. How much hope can the patients be given when they are effectively going into these trials as human guinea pigs? The patients and clinical team must weigh up hope with realism and their response is a profound and revealing reflection of the human condition.”
Haematology Cancer Care is currently supporting CAR T-Cell therapy research, through funding two dedicated PhD students, working closely with Dr Claire Roddie.
“At an hour and 40 minutes, it was a film that was able to do justice to all its parts. It twined them round each other immaculately, keeping the march of the days and the clinical results clear to the uninitiated viewer without losing sight of the intimacy between everyone involved, or distancing the viewers from Graham or Mahmoud’s experiences, which lay at the heart of everything.”
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The Guardian
“The next time someone boasts to me that they don’t have a TV in their house because ‘it’s all rubbish’, I shall point them to War in the Blood. How could you not want to watch this symphony to human courage, endurance, scientific ambition and genius? Even if it does leave you wrung out with sadness.”
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The Times