A Chance to Grow, a documentary film by neonatal nurse Claire Marie Panke, will have its world premiere at the DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC. The film follows three families as they navigate the unpredictable terrain of a newborn intensive care unit, or NICU, and will air on The Discovery Channel during the latter half of 2000.

Within the unique world of the NICU, critically ill and premature infants receive high-tech care that permits doctors and nurses to work miracles on these new, fragile lives. Nationally, up to 12% of all newborns, both premature and full-term, spend time in a NICU, and more than a quarter million babies are born annually in the United States with low birth weight.

The crisis initiated by premature or complicated birth touches many lives outside the scope of the immediate family, but the public remains largely unaware of the prevalence of neonatal intensive care, or the specialized facilities it requires. With the continuing advancement of fertility science and the technology to save premature and at-risk infants, this information becomes especially crucial.

Eight years ago, Ms. Panke, a neonatal nurse, began to develop A Chance to Grow. Through her experiences in the NICU, she knows that having a medically fragile newborn is a life-altering event, one which profoundly affects parents' lives long after their infant comes home from the hospital. "I wanted to make a film that allows families' voices to be heard, to focus on the human side of health care rather than the rising tide of technology," notes Panke.

A Chance to Grow profiles three families on an intimate journey through the NICU. Viewers experience the urgency and drama of initial admission, as doctors and nurses attempt to stabilize a premature baby immediately after birth. The inevitable shifts in each babys condition provide dramatic twists that challenge family stability and redefine parental love. Interwoven through these stories are segments that explore the complex ethical issues surrounding modern neonatal care, including multiple births and the borders of survival outside the womb. In addition, staff members reveal both the challenges and rewards of working in this unique world.

Through grassroots efforts, Ms. Panke was able to raise over $70,000 for production, the majority of donations coming from individuals, including NICU parents eager to see this film made. In 1999, A Chance to Grow was awarded the Roy W. Dean Film Grant as well as a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Jonathan Stack, director of the Academy-award nominated documentary, The Farm, is the film's executive producer.

An extensive outreach plan includes screenings for clinics, health programs, and parent-to-parent networks. In addition, dissemination of A Chance to Grow among health care, education, and social service professionals will influence the way caregivers interact with these children and their families, reminding them of the beneficiaries of their care, the new lives most affected by the new technology.

A Chance to Grow, documentary, video, 52:32, 2000 Little One Productions/Gabriel Films

DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival screening Carolina Theater, Durham NC Friday, April 7th, 2000, 2:00pm
For more information, please contact:
Claire Marie Panke Little One Productions 26 Cornelia Street, #15
New York, NY 10014
tel./fax 212.989.5209 email: pankefilm@aol.com