📜 Post with us on Reddit
📝 Create a new article
🏭 Create a company page
🇬🇧 - in English
🇫🇷 - en Français (FR)
🇵🇹 - em Português (PT)
🇩🇪 - auf Deutsch (DE)
🇯🇵 - 日本語で (JA)
Sponsored articles

You can edit almost every page by Creating an account and confirming your email.

Human Race (Documentary)

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki




Human Race
Official Poster: Human Race
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySimon Lec
Produced byJacob Levin Krogh
Written bySimon Lec
StarringEske Willerslev
Music bySimon Lec
CinematographyBenjamin Kirk, DFF
Edited bySimon Lec & Michael Bauer
Production
company
Move Copenhagen
Distributed byNordisk Film Biografer
Release date
  • October 30, 2025 (2025-10-30) (Denmark)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryDenmark
LanguageEnglish / Danish
Budget(not disclosed)

Search Human Race (Documentary) on Amazon.

Introduction

Human Race is a 2025 Danish documentary film directed by Simon Lec and produced by Jacob Levin Krogh for the Copenhagen-based production company Move Copenhagen.[1] The film follows evolutionary geneticist Eske Willerslev and his international team of researchers as they attempt to map the DNA of 5,000 ancient humans from across the globe.[2][3][4]

Synopsis

Human Race documents Willerslev’s large-scale effort to uncover how migration, adaptation and genetic diversity have shaped the human species. As the research progresses, new questions arise about whether mental traits such as depression, bipolar disorder and autism have always been part of human DNA—and whether they form a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human.[5] Filmed over five years, the documentary interweaves the scientific process with personal reflections on family, identity and vulnerability, portraying science as both an external and internal journey.[6]

Scientific background and research project

The film follows an international research collaboration led by Professor Eske Willerslev at the Centre for GeoGenetics, University of Copenhagen, co-led by Professor Thomas Werge (Mental Health Services, Skt. Hans Hospital) and Professor Rasmus Nielsen (University of California, Berkeley / University of Copenhagen).[7] The project seeks to sequence and analyse about 5,000 ancient human genomes to map migration and adaptation over 50,000 years. It also explores possible evolutionary origins of mental traits and the ethical issues involved in studying ancestral remains. Findings were published in a series of papers in Nature (January 2024):[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Production

Filming took place over five years across Denmark, Norway, Kazakhstan, the UK, Switzerland and the US, following researchers at laboratories and field sites in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Cambridge and Oxford. Director of Photography Benjamin Kirk, DFF shot the film primarily on ARRI cameras, using long static compositions and a cool, desaturated palette to evoke a Nordic visual style.[6] Music and sound design were created by Sylvester Holm and Frank Mølgaard Knudsen, and Simon Lec’s score combines minimalistic acoustic instrumentation with electronic textures.[14] Support was provided by the Danish Film Institute, TV 2 Denmark, the Lundbeck Foundation and the Carlsberg Foundation. Post-production was completed in Copenhagen in 2025, and the final running time is 100 minutes.[1][6]

Festival screenings

Human Race premiered at CPH:DOX 2025, opening the festival’s Science Programme and later appearing among its *Best of Fest* titles.[15] It was subsequently selected for international festivals including:

  • Pariscience – International Science Film Festival (Paris)[16]
  • Bergen International Film Festival (Norway)[17]
  • Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (Australia)[18]
  • AFO – Academia Film Olomouc (Czech Republic)[19]

Release and reception

The film was released in Danish cinemas by Nordisk Film Biografer on 30 October 2025. Reviews were generally positive. Ekko (★★★★★) described it as “a fascinating portrait … and a visually refined Nordic study of humanity’s origins.”[2] KulturBunkeren (★★★★★) called it “captivating from start to finish.”[14] Sundhedskultur (★★★★★) described it as “an empathetic portrayal of a leading researcher’s quest for answers.”[20] Voices of Science (★★★★★) highlighted its “subtle and layered interpretation.”[21] Business Doc Europe noted the film’s balance between scientific scope and human intimacy.[22] British writer Stephen Fry called it “deeply fascinating and breathtaking.”[23]

Social impact and educational use

Since its release, Human Race has been used in a range of educational and public settings to support discussion about genetics, mental health and science communication. In Denmark, it was shown as the closing film at the Psykiatriens Topmøde (National Psychiatry Summit)[24] 2025 and featured in the mental-health-oriented festival Don’t Fear the Weird.[25] It also formed part of DOX:DANMARK, CPH:DOX’s outreach programme that presented the film in 28 municipalities, often followed by public debates. Furthermore, it is included in UNG:DOX, an educational initiative introducing documentary films to secondary-school students and encouraging discussion of social and scientific issues. Through these screenings and resources, the film has contributed to broader awareness of genetic research and its social implications. Researchers Eske Willerslev and Thomas Werge have noted that the project portrayed in the film helps reframe mental diversity as a natural part of human evolution.[26]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Human Race". www.dfi.dk. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ekko review
  3. ↑ "På sporet af sygdommenes vilde udviklingshistorie". Ugeskriftet.dk (in dansk). Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  4. ↑ Communication, UCPH (2025-07-10). "Large-scale DNA study maps 37,000 years of disease history". news.ku.dk. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  5. ↑ "Discoveries gleaned from human ancient DNA". healthsciences.ku.dk. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Home". Human Race. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  7. ↑ "Gene bank with prehistoric DNA the source of new discoveries | University of Gothenburg". www.gu.se. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  8. ↑ Barrie, W. (2024). "Elevated Genetic Risk for Multiple Sclerosis Originated in Steppe Pastoralist Populations". Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06618-z.
  9. ↑ Irving-Pease, E.K. (2024). "The Selection Landscape and Genetic Legacy of Ancient Eurasians". Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06705-1.
  10. ↑ Allentoft, M.E. (2024). "Population Genomics of Postglacial Western Eurasia". Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06865-0.
  11. ↑ Allentoft, M.E. (2024). "100 Ancient Genomes Show Repeated Population Turnovers in Neolithic Age Denmark". Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06862-3.
  12. ↑ Willerslev, E. (2020). "The Genomic History of the Eurasian Steppes". Nature. PMID 32939067 Check |pmid= value (help).
  13. ↑ Garget, Jacqueline (2024-01-10). "Ancient DNA reveals reason for high MS and Alzheimer's rates in Europe". www.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 KulturBunkeren review
  15. ↑ "Human Race – CPH:DOX 2025 Programme". CPH:DOX. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Human Race". Pariscience (in français). Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  17. ↑ "Human Race". BIFF 2025 (in norsk). Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  18. ↑ www.cinemanova.com.au https://www.cinemanova.com.au/index.php/films/mdff-human-race. Retrieved 2025-10-25. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "Home". AFO. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  20. ↑ Sundhedskultur
  21. ↑ Voices of Science review
  22. ↑ Business Doc Europe
  23. ↑ Lec, Move Copenhagen, Simon. "Human Race / The Past Never Dies / Now in Theaters". Human Race. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  24. ↑ Mogensen, Lars (2025-08-20). "Psykiatritopmødet 2025". LAP - Landsforeningen Af nuværende og tidligere Psykiatribrugere (in dansk). Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  25. ↑ "Don't Fear the Weird". www.psykiatri-regionh.dk (in dansk). Archived from the original on 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  26. ↑ "UNG:DOX i Odense". CPH:DOX (in dansk). Retrieved 2025-10-25.

External links and sources


This article "Human Race (Documentary)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Human Race (Documentary). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.


Retrieved from "https://en.everybodywiki.com/index.php?title=Human_Race_(Documentary)&oldid=6487687"
License CC BY-SA 3.0
Powered by MediaWiki