Team

To tell Dr. Thomas Starzl’s story was an extraordinary opportunity. Here is the amazing architecture of a man’s life set against the backdrop of one of modern medicine’s greatest triumphs. Stories like these are gifts for filmmakers. The universe offers them up and it is our challenge and responsibility to return them in an emotionally understandable form. We set out to create a narrative blind to future outcomes, one that remembers just how unimaginable the prospect of success is before it actually arrives.

Starzl’s reputation as one of the most fantastically creative minds of the 20th century is well deserved. Although a new field in medicine is never the work of one person, few would argue that more than anyone Thomas Starzl bridged the gap between laboratory research and clinical practice, transforming the stuff of science fiction into a reality.

This was a journey of discovery. Our first interview with him turned into a series of conversations that were filmed over the course of two years and came to include some of the world’s top transplant surgeons, patients, ethicists, historians and journalists. Then came the painstaking job of creating a 90-minute documentary, culled from over 70 hours of interviews, 30 hours of archival footage and hundreds of photographs. The challenge was to carve out an emotionally charged narrative while conveying the scientific innovation in a manner lay audiences can understand.

At 90, Starzl remained as complex and uncompromising as the fearsome perfectionist former colleagues recalled. His greatest gift, perhaps, was not to falter despite incredible odds and setbacks. But there was a lesser-known, equally fascinating side to his character, which included a deep emotional connection to his patients, a commitment to sharing his knowledge, and a profoundly humanistic outlook. He was keenly aware of the penalties the world demands for progress, and knew that his technological advances outpaced the existing ethical framework. His core sense of ethics, his instinct to avoid easy answers, and the cost to him personally were something I wanted to explore.

Thomas Starzl’s story is famously uplifting and continues to have sweeping contemporary relevance. I am honored to tell it, but my deepest appreciation goes to the man himself. He tread the path of a visionary from dark hours and deep fears to stunning achievement and renown. In the end, his story touches all our lives and serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished when, in Starzl’s words, we learn to “ignore the bullets” and focus on achieving the impossible.