Saffron Walden County High School, Audley End Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 4UH
Wed 8th Nov, 7:15 pm to 9:00 pm
In a futuristic society, the wealthy have taken to genetically engineering their off-spring in a search for physical and mental perfection. Such lab-created babies are known as ‘Valids’, while those conceived ‘traditionally’ are labelled ‘In-Valids’ and treated as second-class citizens. Vincent (Ethan Hawke), an ‘In-Valid’, has always lived in the shadow of his ‘Valid’ brother Anton (Loren Dean), but will stop at nothing to fulfill his dream of becoming a space navigator for the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. Set in a morally ambiguous world, this intelligent thriller’s focus on characters and ideas make it as pertinent and engaging as it was 20 years ago.
A panel discussion following the film will explore the social science, ethical and medical research behind this fast-moving field. There have been major advances in the field of genetics and genomics over the last 20 years. DNA testing is becoming ever more commonplace, and is even available commercially for people wishing to find out more about their health and ancestry.
Chaired by broadcaster Vivienne Parry of Genomics England, the panel will include experts from Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Wellcome Genome Campus and there will be plenty of time for audience Q&A.
This film is being screened as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science.