SFU video on genomics gets thumbs up
Suraaj Aulakh, 778.237.9690; ska16@sfu.ca
Fiona Brinkman, 778.782.5646; brinkman@sfu.ca
Rhian Walker, Gene Screen B.C., 604.617.6955; rhian.walker@gmail.com
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035; cthorbes@sfu.ca
Ingenuity, inspiration and curiosity helped a team of six Simon Fraser University science students clinch first prize for the best short film on genomics and health in Gene Screen B.C.’s first-ever film competition.
Project leader Suraaj Aulakh, Cindy Li, Charles Stevens, Kelly Kim, Daniel Chiang and Linda Zhang, grad students in molecular biology and biochemistry (MBB), took top prize, $3,500, for Sequence Me.
The fun but reflective seven-minute fictional piece charts the decision-making and emotional journey of a young man who decides to sequence his genome after his sister dies of a genetic disorder.
Drawing on her undergrad film and design experience at SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Aulakh helped her team get creative with “a cheap pocket camera with a broken lens cover and no zoom.”
Sequence Me, shot in black and white and put to music like a silent era movie, uses titles to explore the significance and potential impact of genome sequencing from a curious layperson’s point of view.
“Fascinated by the possibility of getting our own genomes sequenced in the future, we decided to look at issues in a world where this technology is commercially available,” explains Aulakh. “We addressed lack of public awareness, illegal sequencing, confidentiality and social ostracism.”
Aulakh says serendipity inspired her and her teammates’ entry. They had heard about this competition just after launching their educational website, labtricks.com, and figured this entry would be a perfect addition. It’s now the feature video.
Open to university students and amateur filmmakers internationally, Gene Screen B.C. attracted 23 entries, including a few from the United States and Europe.
Genome B.C. and the B.C. Clinical Genomics Network organized the competition, offering $8,000 in prize money, for the best documentary, short fiction or animation films with an engaging educational message about genomics.
At a packed gala in September, the competition’s organizers honoured the top four winners, including the creators of Superbug, Be Gone, a documentary about SFU scientist Fiona Brinkman’s work that took second prize.
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Backgrounder: SFU video on genomics gets thumbs up
Contact:
Aliya Sadeque, 778.321.2778, aliya.sadeque@gmail.com
Aliya Sadeque, a University of Victoria graduate, says serendipity also played a role in her and local filmmaker Dan Vasquez’s decision to make Brinkman’s war on antibiotic resistance the subject of their submission.
“I was inspired by a talk given by Dr. Brinkman just before I heard about the competition,” says Sadeque. “I knew I wanted to get people excited about her work on anti-infectives as the next generation of drugs to more effectively fight super bugs.”
Brinkman adds, “If this film results in more people becoming aware of antibiotic resistance and approaches to more effectively control infectious diseases, then that’s a great bonus.”
Genome B.C. and the B.C. Clinical Genomics Network will use all of the entries to stimulate public and medical discussion and education about genomics and health.
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Paul Matthew St. Pierre
As a film buff I enjoyed watching both Sequence Me and Superbug, Be Gone as cleverly written, acted, shot, edited, scored, and narrated no-budget videos. As a genomic organism I found the videos intriguing and informative, because they were about me in a sense, my genes and bacteria and their sign transmissions.