“In Australia, the effects of stroke are all too familiar to many of us but it’s a topic that is not nearly represented enough in the screen arts.”
~ Andrea Bedelis, Co-Producer, 'Mother.Child.'
Lawrence Leung from Newtwork Ten's Offspring, has joined the cast of Mother. Child., a short film with a big objective — to raise awareness about stroke.
Gabrielle Chan (The Home Song Stories) has already been cast to play a stroke survivor and mother to Leung’s adult son.
Mother. Child. will explore the unique and complex relationship between stroke survivor and carer, celebrating the incredible bond between a son and his mother after she suffers a stroke.
I decided to write the film after caring for my own mother, who suffered a stroke last year.
Co-producer Andrea Bedelis said:
“We realised that as we get older, our parents seem to get younger. Not necessarily in a physical sense, but certainly from a psychological one."
In making this film we have worked closely with several leading stroke and acquired brain injury (ABI) organisations including the National Stroke Foundation, Stroke Recovery Association of NSW, Brain Injury Australia, Synapse and Stroke Association of Victoria.
Bedelis said:
“In Australia, the effects of stroke are all too familiar to many of us but it’s a topic that is not nearly represented enough in the screen arts.”
Kitty's first walk
Jude Czerenkowski of the National Stroke Foundation described the film as,
“ ... a welcome addition to the expression of the stroke community and, we believe, to many others who have been through the life-changing nature of serious illness.”
The project has attracted a talented crew, including renowned Australian cinematographer Garry Phillips (The Railway Man, Candy).
Cameras are scheduled to roll in mid-December.
We hope this short film will add a unique voice in the national campaign for stroke awareness and bring to light the brave survivors and carers across Australia.
Statistics indicate that one in six people will experience a stroke in their lifetime. In Australia, a stroke occurs every ten minutes. With figures like this, community engagement is critical in the fight against stroke.
Mother. Child. has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the Australian Cultural Fund to raise much needed money for production. All donations of $2 and above are tax deductible.
Tin Pang is a Sydney based writer and director. You can read more about Mother.Child. at motherchildmovie.com. Help support the film and the stroke community by donating today, here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
