In 2011, filmmakers Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman heard about a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, a disease that kills more than five million people each year. Driven by a desire to cure Lisa of her own type 1 diabetes, the married couple secured unprecedented, real-time access to a clinical trial led by San Diego–based biotech company ViaCyte—only the sixth-ever embryonic stem cell trial in the world. What follows is an intimate journey with the patients and scientists who put themselves on the line to advance medical science. This candid doc shows the frustratingly incremental progress of clinical trials, following ViaCyte employees into drab laboratories and grueling cross-country pitch sessions with investors. In the world of biotech and medical research, there are no tidy solutions.

Directors Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman along with film subject Greg Romero will participate in a post-screening Q&A, moderated by Hot Docs programmer Aisha Jamal.

Tickets: $15 (Members from $10)