History books tell us that Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, but that's not the whole story. This drama uncovers the forgotten team involved in the development and manufacture of the drug that transformed medicine and Oxford’s historic role. The film stars Dominic West as Professor Howard Florey (The Wire) and Denis Lawson (Star Wars) as Professor Alexander Fleming.
- Date: Saturday 31 January 2026
- Time: 9:45 am to 12:15 pm
- Venue: Phoenix Picturehouse on Walton Street in Oxford
All proceeds from the event will go towards projects by the Friends of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.
There will be an opening address by Vice-Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey and after the screening there is a prestigious panel for Q&As chaired by Professor Christopher Winearls, Associate Professor of Medicine and retired Consultant Nephrologist, who is one of the Friends's Vice Presidents. Panel members include Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, Head of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Professor Tim Peto, Co-Leader for the Infection Theme of the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Dr. Georgia Isom, Monsanto Senior Research Fellow at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Chloe Williams and Lunan Zhao who produced the University's 'Oxford Health Histories' penicillin work.