A Question of Genes

A two-hour national PBS Special about the ethical, legal, social and philosophical implications of genetic testing. 

Website for the show

New York Times Interview with Noel Schwerin

More reviews
Prizes awarded to "A Question of Genes":
Best Documentary, "CLARION AWARD", Assoc. for Women in Communications
CINE Gold Eagle Award
San Luis Obispo Film Festival, Second Place
International Association of Visual Communicators, Silver Cindy Documentary
WORLDFEST Charleston, Bronze Award
Columbus International Film and Video Festival, 2 Honorable Mentions
Missouri Film Festival, Award of Accomplishment
Recommended viewing:
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TV Guide Fall Preview, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, San Jose Mercury News, Newsday, New York Post, New York Daily News, Tampa Tribune, Kansas City Star, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, and others.
"A Question of Genes is a thoughtful and poignant examination of issues surrounding genetic testing." 

TV Guide 

 
"A sensitive treatment of a fascinating subject, this two-hour film profiles patients, doctors and family members as it examines the deeply personal and ethical issues surrounding new breakthroughs in genetic testing. Learning one's predisposition for certain diseases rarely puts one's mind at rest, reveals producer/director/writer Noel Schwerin." 

 Matt Roush/Critic's Corner, USA Today 

 
"We'll all die of something, and genetic testing now has the potential to reveal our fates, or at least the odds, in ways undreamt of only 10 years ago. The moral quandaries involved get a careful airing in this disturbing special, filled with emotion-laden real-life stories and partly funded by the Energy Department's Human Genome Project and SmithKline Beecham." 

Barbara Phillips, Wall Street Journal 
 

"A Question of Genes looks at how testing can predict risks for such illnesses like cystic fibrosis, breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease." 

 The Week's Highlights, The New York Times Sunday Edition 

 
"The bugaboo here is genetic testing - the process by which we can screen the unborn for predispositions to everything from nearsightedness to cancer. Of course the question is: what do we do with that information?" 

 Fall Preview, The Boston Phoenix 
 

San Luis Obispo Film Festival, 1997 
Second Prize 

 

 "One of the best original shows you could watch tonight is A Question of Genes. This is a provocative, insightful work looking at genetic testing, from a Bay Area filmmaker. Don't miss it." 

Tim Goodman, The San Francisco Examiner 
 

"Virtually every week this newspaper prints a story about the discovery of a gene that causes another inherited disease. An immediate benefit of the identification, each story will say, is that it makes possible testing to identify individuals who carry the genes and are thus at risk of developing the disorder. Left undiscussed, however, is the question is whether such testing is, in fact, desirable, and what impact it will have on the patient...A Question of Genes explores these agonizing questions through the medium of several families that are presented with the option of undergoing such testing...it is gripping." 

Thomas H. Maugh, The Los Angeles Times 
 

"San Francisco filmmaker Noel Schwerin examines the moral and social ramifications of advances in genetic testing. Do we really want to know if we are genetically susceptible to fatal disease? And what happens if that information falls into the hands of employers and insurance companies?" 

 John Carman, The San Francisco Chronicle 
 

"More and more people are learning that they are predisposed to illnesses like Alzheimer's, breast cancer and heart disease. This documentary examines the ethical and social dilemmas of genetic testing." 

 Best TV Highlights, The New York Daily News Sunday Edition 
 

"A Question of Genes explores the moral and ethical questions raised by genetic testing." 

TV Plus Highlights, Newsday Sunday Edition