A stroke changes everything. In a matter of minutes sometimes, life of both the stroke survivor as well as his/her family changes. Roles change abruptly. A child becomes a mother and a mother the child.
Sometimes those who were the strongest in the family become heavily dependent it while a ‘carefree’ person becomes – without any preparation – a very important caregiver. So many aspects – finances, where and how to stay, treatment and nursing options – suddenly are thrust on largely unprepared persons. But love, compassion and just being there for one another can make a lot of difference ….
For any stroke survivor and caregiver this movie will appeal at so many levels. Hopefully for others it will help raise stroke awareness and a better appreciation of what a stroke survivor and family caregivers around him/her go through.
From the director Tin Pang :
The film is based on my experiences with my mother, particularly after we left hospital. The first few weeks at home are some of the toughest, and bring with it many conflicts and difficulties. I decided to shoot the film in one continuous take, as we follow two actors, Gabrielle Chan and Lawrence Leung, as the mother and son in a small apartment. It’s a very personal film, but also a project that strives to tell a truthful depiction of the Stroke survivor/carer dynamic, whilst raising Stroke survivor and carer awareness to audiences across the globe.
Mother, Child premiered at the prestigious Melbourne International Film Festival in 2016 and has since played at over ten major film festivals in Australia and overseas, including the Best Short Fiction award at the ATOM Awards in Australia and a Silver Remi award at World-Fest Houston in Texas.