The New York premiere of the documentary In the Family was held at the Paley Center in Manhattan the other night. Underwrtten by the Playboy Foundation, the film examines the emotions and issues that arise when a woman learns that she has a genetic predisposition to breast or ovarian cancer. With intelligence, anger, sadness and surprising cheer, the documentarian Joanna Rudnick examines this subject, and, most dramatically, chooses herself as the lens through which to examine this topic. Because of the devastating history of these diseases in her family, Rudnick had herself tested, and found that she carries a gene that has left her terribly vulnerable to these illnesses. It’s an enormously affecting film; as Rudnick explores the possibility of having her breasts and ovaries removed by surgery, we, too, are gripped by the terrible choice she must make between gambling with her life or sustaining major, life-changing procedures. Along the way, Rudnick talks with other women who faced the same choice; candidly and sympathetically shows the impact her condition has on her boyfriend; and looks at the political and business angles on her condition. Telling a story like this through the prism of one’s own life has to be one of the hardest things a journalist can do, and Rudnick does it brilliantly. (Above, Rudnick, second from right, discusses the film with Dr. David Fishman, Tania Simoncelli of the ACLU, film subject Luis Redrazza and Pat Mitchell of the Paley Center.