SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 23andMe Holding Co. (Nasdaq: ME) (23andMe), a leading genetic health and biopharmaceutical company, announced a month-long initiative to amplify Ava DuVernay’s new film ORIGIN and the film’s groundbreaking Seat16 program. Seat16 allows anyone to gift $16 or more to purchase an ORIGIN movie ticket for a young person who might not otherwise be able to purchase a ticket to the film. For 23 days, 23andMe will donate 100 seats daily to support the program.

ARRAY, the multi-platform arts and social impact collective founded by Ava DuVernay, created the Seat16 initiative to ensure that 10,000 young people across the nation get to experience ORIGIN.

Written, directed, and produced by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, ORIGIN explores the mystery of history, the wonders of romance, and a fight for our future. While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience. With an expansive cast that includes Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, and Niecy Nash-Betts, the film was inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson's novel Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents.

“It’s a scientific fact we are all 99.5 percent genetically identical. We are more alike than we are different and sometimes people forget humans have created hierarchies and caste systems. As a brand we focus on the knowledge that we are all connected, equally, through our DNA,” said Tracy Keim, Chief Brand Officer at 23andMe. “Supporting Ava DuVernay, ARRAY and the ORIGIN team by purchasing tickets for young adults through their Seat 16 program, encourages a new generation to have the opportunity to be educated through the film’s storytelling about our connection, not our differences.”

View the film's trailer here. Through her foundation, 23andMe co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki helped fund the film along with several other non-profits.

About 23andMe

23andMe is a genetics-led consumer healthcare and biopharmaceutical company empowering a healthier future. For more information, please visit www.23andMe.com.

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