the best model
The Best Model is a documentary film following a group of international toxicology students. During their studies, the students’ concept of animal research and the relevance of animal testing for the future, are challenged.
The students speak about how animal research can be improved, mentioning how those who work with animal research must respect and like animals to be able to do a good job. Some of the students believe that animal testing is difficult to replace. Others believe that computer simulations and cell models should be able to completely replace animal testing.
Awareness, science and how we talk about animal use in research are the main themes in this documentary film that follows international toxicology students in Stockholm.
WHY DO WE TELL THIS HISTORY?
Research animals have been used in medical research and as a method to test chemicals and medicines for about 100 years. Huge scientific achievements have been done with the help of animal models. At the same time, scientists have developed cell and computer models that make it possible to, for example, study diseases and side effects without animal testing. The 3R’s principles are regulated and mandatory to apply for all individuals and organizations working with research animals in Sweden. This means that researchers must replace animal research with animal-free models if possible (Replace). If replacement is not viable, they should use as few animals as possible in the research (Reduce) and ensure that the animals are treated well (Refine).
“The 3R's principle is a prerequisite for good quality research, which is why we need to put
effort into implementing them in all scientific practices.”
The development of the 3Rs is slow. However, some animal experimentations can already today be replaced by animal-free alternatives. There are many preconceptions about animal research and animal-free methods from both researchers and in society as a whole. Animal research is an ethical, scientific, and emotionally loaded topic.
“I hope that The Best Model will contribute to respectful conversations about animal use in research, and by that create a debate that inspires and encourages rather than polarizes. Researchers that use animal models and researchers that use animal-free models need to collaborate and contribute to the development together, and thereby make it possible to handle fears and misgivings regarding changes and novel research and test methods.”
What are the 3R:s?
"We have to begin somewhere, and I think banning animal testing for cosmetics is a good start. It is an area where companies must think creatively around how to produce their products, which allows them to naturally search for alternative methods."
HANNASTUDENT
Replace stands for methods that replace animal models, such as testing on human volunteers, donated tissue, cells from humans or euthanized animals, human or animal cell lines and mathematical models.
"I think we still need animal research in some areas; however, we should put more effort in developing in vitro and in silico methods that can be used before moving on to in vivo. That way we can reduce the number of animals significantly”.
VIOLETTASTUDENT
Reduce implies methods that reduce the amount of research animals, such as optimizing study design, method development for data analysis, and collaboration and data sharing between research groups.
“In this course we’ve had the opportunity to come in contact with live animals, which has helped us realize the importance of treating the animal well and with respect and taught us to understand why we must use the 3Rs.”
NICOSSTUDENT
Refine includes methods that decrease animal suffering and improves the quality of research animal life, such as better animal handling by training the animals to cooperate, enriching the animals’ environment, and developing experimental procedures that lower the animals’ discomfort, for example during procedures like blood sampling.
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BOOK A Screening OR A WORKSHOP
Film and Tell has organized film screenings with discussions and workshops for over 40,000 people since its founding in 2010. We work together with academia, companies, authorities, schools, and the civil society.
Do you want to watch the first version of the film and make The Best Model even better? We are currently conducting test screenings with discussion about animal testing and alternative methods in research. Are you interested in organizing a custom-made workshop? We design goal-oriented and engaging workshops based on the unique material that we have produced. Contact us!
Watch a film clip from a workshop where the students discuss and debate how animal use in research can be replaced, reduced, and refined. Feel free to share the link with others who might be interested in questions regarding research animals and want to learn more about the 3Rs!
Collaboration
Are you interested in exploring how The Best Model can bring about positive change, and what we could achieve that will benefit both society and your organization? We are seeking for partners to help drive this initiative forward. We want to contribute to an open discussion on the issue of animal experimentation, promote the 3Rs and support the development of new research and alternative test methods. Get in contact with us for collaboration.
directors
Gustav Ågerstrand
Åsa Ekman
Oscar Hedin hetteberg
The Best Model is directed by Gustav Ågerstrand, Åsa Ekman and Oscar Hedin Hetteberg.
Ågerstrand, Ekman and Hedin Hetteberg have directed together before. Their The Good Country (2018) described how Sweden tried to welcome migrants. The series was nominated for the TV Prize Kristallen for Best Documentary and has been shown to over 6, 000 people in workshops and screenings.
Åsa Ekman and Oscar Hedin Hetteberg have collaborated creatively for many years. Together they created the two documentaries My Life MyLesson (2014) and Say Something (2015), about children experiencing domestic violence – both features winning the Kristallen for Best Documentary two years in a row. The two films have been the foundation of Film and Tell’s initiative SEE THE CHILDREN which has delivered film screenings for over 25 000 people and became a catalyzer in ensuring the new Child Peace Act passed in Sweden - a law that made it criminal to let a child witness domestic violence. Previously, Ekman has won the Best Swedish Film Award at Gothenburg International Film Festival and Hedin Hetteberg has been nominated for the Swedish Film Prize Guldbagge (Best Documentary).
Gustav Ågerstrand has previously received an Honorary Mention in the class New Doc at Tempo Documentary Festival for the film Tjuvgods (2013). Ågerstrand was a cinematographer for Vinden blåser vartden vill (2016) that won Lune d'Or at 7ème Lune Rennes.
ProduceRS
The Best Model is produced by Oscar Hedin Hetteberg, Elin Törnqvist, Marina-Evelina Cracana and Åsa Ekman.
Marina-Evelina Cracana
Marina-Evelina Cracana is educated at Scotland Screen Academy and Aristoteles Workshop. She has produced Earth: Muted (2021) broadcasted by SVT and ARTE France and The Fuel Filter (2017) which won Best International Documentary at AKIFF.
Elin Törnqvist
Elin Törnqvist is a researcher and a research manager with 25 years of experience in academy, private industry, and government organizations. Törnqvist is a member of the Swedish National Committee for the Protection of Animal Used for Scientific Purposes Steering Group for Sweden’s 3R center and of the Research Without Animal Experiments advisory board.
film and tv
Do you work in the film and TV market and are interested in our film? Contact our producer Marina-Evelina Cracana.
MARINA-EVELINA CRACANA
PRODUCER
marina-evelina.cracana@filmandtell.com
073-664 35 44
WHERE WE ARE AT
Film and Tell was able to start working on The Best Model thanks to funding for Research Communication from Formas. The idea of the documentary was developed in 2019.
In February 2020, filming of the students began. The producer, Elin Törnqvist, held a workshop with students that had just completed a course in laboratory animal science.
When Covid-19 breaks out in March 2020, many of the international students left Sweden to begin distance learning, isolating in their home countries. This forced us to pause filming.
In April 2020, Film and Tell was granted financial support from Torvald and Britta Gahlin’s Foundation, to create more material, a website, and present the film at film forums, and in June additional development support was given from the Swedish Film Institute.
In September 2020, filming could begin again when the students returned to Sweden and started studying cell methods in a lab. Elin Törnqvist held another workshop with the students about which research methods are best used to study the human physiology.
Elin Törnqvist began showing film material. She held lectures for students in connection with the European Researcher’s Night (Research Friday) organized by Vetenskap & Allmänhet in collaboration with the Swedish 3R center. In December, veterinary students at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences were introduced to the concept of the 3Rs when shown the material in a course on animal welfare, legislation, and ethics. The film material invited good conversations among both secondary school students and veterinarian students.
Filming occurred during several occasions, for example in January 2021, one of the students met a researcher working on a new method “organ on a chip”, which will be able to replace certain drug research that is currently performed with research animals.
Elin Törnqvist was invited to the conference Towards replacement of animals for scientific purposes organized by the EU Commission. Together with two researchers who are responsible for the students’ 3R education in the master’s program in toxicology, she talked about teaching the 3Rs as well as showed the film material for The Best Model.
Film and Tell produced a shorter film based on material from the students’ first workshop. In addition, we produced a first version of a short film, where we follow one of the students more closely. The film material was shown in test screenings to collect feedback that helped us to improve on the film.
In May 2021, the students got to watch the film material themselves and participate in a final workshop. They have now graduated and are starting their careers as toxicologists.
film and tell
Film and Tell is a documentary film company with the goal to drive positive, measurable social change. We do this through powerful high-quality documentaries, extensive and creative outreach, and fact-based advocacy work.
We call our method Real Stories. Real Change.
WE ARE PROUD TO COLLABORATE WITH
Torvald och Britta Gahlins stiftelse
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