College of Science & Visiting Filmmakers Series: THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS

Join the College of Science and the Visiting Filmmakers Series for a free screening of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" on Monday, February 26, 2024, in the Johnson Center Cinema from 5:30-8:30pm. The screening will be followed by a panel and group discussion.

The film tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa. Told primarily through the eyes of Lacks’ daughter Deborah (Oprah Winfrey) and journalist Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne), the film investigates how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, from cancer to polio to radiation to AIDS, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever.

NOTE: This film contains a few strong swear words and brief but disturbing depictions of childhood physical and sexual abuse.

This event is free and open to the public.

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Co-hosted with: George Mason University, University Life, Delta Kappa Alpha, Dominion Hall, Mason Science Community, Film at Mason, Visiting Filmmakers Series (OWNER), College of Science Office of Academic and Student Affairs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion , African and African American Studies, CVPA Office of Belonging and Inclusive Engagement+, Black Filmmakers Association, STEM Accelerator - College of Science

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