Page 11 - National UF Spring 2017
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HBO Films' THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF
HENRIETTA LACKS debuts on April 22.
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About the Film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
5H6BO Films' THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, directed by George C. Wolfe from a
screenplay by Peter Landesman and Alexander Woo and Wolfe, debuts on HBO on Saturday, April
22nd. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey), the film chronicles her search
to learn about the mother she never knew and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of
Lacks' cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs. It's a story of medical
arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest of people. Rebecca
Skloot's "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," which took more than a decade to research and write,
instantly hit the New York Times bestseller list upon publication, and remained there for more than
four years. Several members of the Lacks family served as consultants on the film, including
Henrietta's children, David Lacks, Jr. and Zakariyya Bari Abdul Rahman, and Henrietta's
grandchildren, Jeri Lacks Whye, Alfred Carter, Jr. and LaTonya Carter.
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