Cineflix celebrates Mothers' Day! "motherhood 24/7" a Birth Stories Special premieres May 11 on the Life Network

Montreal: April 28, 2003 - A special one-hour celebration of the challenges and joys of mothering, motherhood 24/7: a Birth Stories Special, premieres on the Life Network on Mothers’ Day, Sunday, May 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The producers of the popular, long-running series Birth Stories zero in on the day-to-day adventures of motherhood by following Mandy and Stephanie, two very different “Birth Stories” mothers on the job around the clock.

“The daily life of a mother is challenging in so many ways, but at the same time, it’s so familiar to us, we’re rarely impressed or moved by the day to day grind.” says Gail Gallant, executive producer of Motherhood 24/7 and the mother of a 15-year-old son. “To convey the real stories of motherhood in a true and engaging way we had to move in, to be there twenty-four hours a day to make sure we captured the whole crazy picture.”

Mandy and Stephanie both participated in Birth Stories. Now we catch up with them months after the birth of their babies. Keeping things on track in Mandy’s household verges on feasible for two parents. She and James have five children: fifteen-month-old twins Toby and Theo; irrepressible Duncan who’s three; five-year-old Charlie, and Madeleine, eight. When James leaves town on business, Mandy is the ringmaster of a busy circus. Meanwhile, Stephanie lives in a small apartment with her mother and her six-month-old son, Kyle. Kyle has enriched her life in ways she never imagined. Now they’re embarking on a new phase of life together as she prepares for a major transition: returning to work as a go-go dancer.

Like the mothers themselves, the filmmakers were on duty 24/7. This provides a wealth of beautifully intimate, candid and surprisingly funny glimpses into everyday mothering, from breakfast to bedtime with all the crises, tantrums, accidents and chaos in between. With its inside access to family life, motherhood 24/7 captures a three-year-old’s comically brief time-out; makes a solid case for baby massage and reveals just how long it takes a five-year-old to get dressed – and why.

The executive producers of motherhood 24/7 are André Barro and Gail Gallant. The production executive at Life Network is David Way. Leslie Fruman is the head director and director/shooters are Patricia Chica and Nadine Schwartz. motherhood 24/7 is produced by Cineflix in association with Life Network; with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry CTF: License Fee Program; and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit; the government of Ontario-The Ontario Film & Television Tax Credit; and The Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit administered by la Société des entreprises culturelles.