Verk

Sagan om livet

Vetenskapens värld, SVT|1982|Film, Vetenskapsfotografi

The TV documentary, which took four years to complete, was produced by Bo G. Erikson, Carl O. Löfman, and Lennart Nilsson, with cinematography by Lennart Nilsson.

Human Egg Cell Division After Fertilization, 1985

The most difficult sequence to film was the actual division of the egg. It was started in Stockholm in 1978 and finally filmed in Gothenburg in 1981. It required a combination of patience and luck.

Bo G Erikson

Lennart Nilsson’s photographic narratives about life before birth have reached millions of people worldwide through reports, books, and films, establishing him as one of the most significant photographers of our time.

Sagan om livet (The Miracle of Life) tells the story of how a human being is created, from fertilization to birth. The documentary, which took four years to make, includes a sequence capturing the first division of the egg cell—the very first step toward a new human life. The TV production received two Emmy Awards.

World’s first IVF conference in 1981 held at Bourn Hall Clinic. First row, from the left, Robert Edwards, Jean Purdy and Patrick Steptoe. In the early years following the first IVF births in England (1978), Australia, and the United States, other teams were successful in achieving births: in 1982 in France from the group of Professors Frydman and Testart, and in Sweden from the group of Professor Lars Hamberger. In 1982, in England, both Brian Lieberman’s group and Professor Ian Craft’s group also achieved live births, followed by, Feitchinger and Kemeter in Austria, and later that year births also occurred in Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. © Lennart Nilsson/SPL/TT

At the first IVF conference, held at Bourn Hall Clinic in September 1981, Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger presented the sequence of the first cell division. Lennart discussed filming the cell division in the magazine Svenska Journalen (1993):

“Absolutely amazing, it was as if time had stood still. But the images weren’t particularly good—they were blurry, out of focus. I got much better pictures of the cell division a few years later. By then, they were razor-sharp. Of course, technological advancements make a difference. The conditions for achieving a good result keep improving. But what’s truly important is knowing what you want.”

Read Time’s article The Real Story of Jean Purdy, Whose Work Developing IVF Is Portrayed in Netflix’s Joy

Read Bo G. Erikson’s memories of Lennart and their collaboration (in Swedish)