Ayr filmmaker: 'My film celebrates mum’s laughing spirit

May 14 2008 By Edwin Lawrence, Ayrshire Post

A FAMILY bares its soul in one of the most moving documentaries ever shown on TV.

Filmmaker Sue Bourne turns the cameras on her own family to produce Mum & Me.

Sue’s widowed mother Ethel, 85, has Alzheimer’s and is in an Ayr nursing home.

The film about their relationship is on BBC One on Tuesday, May 20, at 10.35pm.

Sue, 54, is a London-based TV producer, who was brought up in Alloway.

And her production company, Wellpark, is named after the street where the family lived.

Her late father, John Bourne, was a civil servant who was once in charge of Prestwick Airport.

And mum Ethel is widely known through her charity work with the Ayr branch of Save the Children.

But now comes a role reversal, with Ethel the child of the family, because of her dementia.

Sue admitted: “I thought long and hard about whether to make this film and expose myself, my mother and my daughter. But I realised there was something special about mum and her Alzheimer’s, because she’s taught us to laugh in the face of adversity.”

And viewers will see for themselves that Ethel has an amazing sense of humour, even though Alzheimer’s has robbed her of precious memories.

Sue said: “Everything I’d seen about Alzheimer’s was devastatingly miserable, so I wanted this film to show you can still laugh together and have fun.”

Ethel lives in Rozelle Holm nursing home, and Sue said: “The staff are so loving towards mum. They adore her because she’s so sweet.”

Sue makes the 800-mile round trip back to Ayr around once a month, and the documentary, filmed over three years, highlights some of the visits.

Sue made many of these with daughter Holly, 18, who is now at Glasgow University.

The film also shows little outings and holidays the trio took together, as well as Sue’s daily phone calls to mum.

Good and bad times are highlighted in a searingly honest documentary.

And the film will strike a chord with many, many people.

It’s about family, and it’s about love.

Sue Bourne has a string of successful documentaries to her name — most recently on Channel 4 with Cutting Edge’s My Street, Wedding Days and the Emmy-nominated Falling Man.

Mum & Me looks set to be equally well received, and Sue’s final commentary in the film captures its spirit.

She says: “I want mum to live forever and ever just the way she is. But sadly I know this won’t happen. Her Alzheimer’s means she’s going to get worse. All Holly and I can hope for is that in the time we’ve got left, the three of us will laugh some more together.”