An emerging collection of award-winning short films, commissioned by Cambridge researchers, is being released as part of a project to widen conversations about genetic science, particularly among audiences who might otherwise ‘walk away’.

The films have been developed through a project called “Only Human” and focus on people’s experiences and feelings about genetic health. Patients and members of the public speak personally about illness, inheritance, identity and trust. Strikingly, however, genetic science is often absent from the conversation.

That omission is deliberate. The research underpinning Only Human suggests that even the word “genetics” can prompt audiences to switch off from important health information or scare them away. By starting with lived experience rather than science, the team hopes to create space for more meaningful and inclusive public conversations.

Only Human – involving a consortium of academics, artists and filmmakers – is one of several initiatives developed through the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science and the Public at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education.

Although genomic health services are sweeping through the NHS, public engagement with genetics is lagging behind. Government research suggests that a third of people never talk about science with family, friends or colleagues, while 38% consider scientists poor communicators.

The sense of distance is particularly acute among Black and Minoritised communities, who have experienced inequalities and injustice in healthcare. Many are reluctant to contribute to the genetic databases that underpin genomic health research, which means they are underrepresented within them. At worst, disengagement can lead to potentially fatal hereditary conditions going untreated.

The challenge is explicit in the project’s flagship film, It’s Only Human, by filmmaker Jonathan Barnbrook, which features the voices of people from minority ethnic groups who participated in research exploring what they actually hear when scientists talk about genomics. One contributor describes the word “scientist” as “almost like a swear word… for me it doesn’t hold any trust or value.” Another expresses fear and uncertainty: “I thought – it’s a scientist, so what are they going to do? Are they going to do mutations or something?”

Professor Anna Middleton, Director of the Kavli Centre, points out that there is no clear, research-informed approach for building engagement with genomics. Typically, university-based research communication focuses on audiences who are already sufficiently interested in science to attend public lectures and read news articles.

“Our starting assumption with Only Human, based on research from the British Science Association, is that people have bigger priorities in life than caring about science” she said. “They’re the ones we are interested in speaking with. They’re probably about 80% of the population.”

The project aims to start conversations that “meet these audiences where they are” – for example, through film, gaming, or influencer-led engagement on social platforms. Its orbit is deliberately outside of Cambridge and it was co-founded by Vivienne Parry, broadcaster and previous Head of Public Engagement for Genomics England, and Julian Borra, from the creative storytelling agency, Thin Air Factory.

Middleton, as academic lead, has been working with Parry and Borra since 2013 to bring Only Human to life, often against stiff opposition. During that time, the team has developed an Intervention Research Model which also brings in leading creative partners. “People shouldn’t feel frightened by genetic science, they should feel empowered, but we need better ways to welcome them into the conversation,” Middleton said. “The films don’t lead with or explain the benefits of science because we know that doesn’t work for many people. The aim is to spark interest to get the conversation going.”

Image in this story: Still from Health and Connection to Genetics: one of three short films about the experiences of Brenda Agyeiwaa Poku (pictured) created for the Only Human project by Ridley Scott Productions.