D Carleton Gajdusek won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Prions - the particles that would emerge as the cause of Mad Cow disease - while working with a cannibal tribe on New Guinea. He was a star of the scientific world. Over his years working amongst the tribes of the South Seas, he adopted 57 kids, bringing them to a new life in Washington DC. His adoptions were hailed as wonderful fatherly beneficence. But, at the height of his career, rumours began to spread he was a paedophile. Gajdusek would argue that if sex with children was okay in their own cultures, he wasn't wrong to join in. How could a great mind like Gajdusek's lose insight so totally, and why would the scientific community to which he was a hero be so quick to leap to his defence and dismiss the allegations? (Storyville)
Release Date | June 1, 2009 | |
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Status | Released | |
Original Title | The Genius and the Boys | |
Runtime | 1h 29min | |
Budget | — | |
Revenue | — | |
Language | English | |
Original Language | English | |
Production Countries | Sweden | |
Production Companies | ARTE GEIEBBC StoryvilleDR-DokumentarEight MillimetresSVT DokumentärSvenska Filminstitutet |