Are there any diseases that have not yet been the subject of a made-for-TV movie? Epstein-Barr Syndrome, perhaps? Did Lyme Tick Disease get its 15 minutes of fame? Has anyone optioned Gout? There can be no doubt that it is hard enough to make MOWs that stand out from the crowd. But it is harder still, admits Society’s Child producer Phyllis Laing, to make one that doesn’t fall into the all-too-familiar ‘disease of the week’ formula.

‘This particular movie-of-the-week didn’t use the usual reality format,’ says Laing. ‘It was written much more in the style of a feature film. There is use of magic realism. The use of color and the use of camera work that the director chose took it out of its traditional TV format.’

The movie – up for best TV movie or dramatic series – recounts the fight by a single mother of seven to help a daughter stricken with the rare neurological disorder Rett Syndrome.

Pierre Gang (Further Tales From the City) directs under producers Laing of Winnipeg’s Buffalo Gal Pictures, Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Toronto’s Sienna Films, and Sharon McGowan. Jessica Steen (Trial and Error, The Practice) stars along with Margot Kidder and 13-year-old Kyley Statham (Dark Angel) as the ailing Nikki.

Laing is quick to credit the young star for her strong performance. ‘It was a physically very difficult production,’ she recalls. ‘It was very challenging for [Kyley], but she went far beyond our expectations. She was fantastic.’ Rett Syndrome mostly affects young girls and causes severe motor dysfunction and seizures, among other symptoms.

Laing says breaking out of formula filmmaking depends largely on broadcasters. ‘It depends on their willingness to take risks,’ she says. ‘In this case there was a great deal of trust in the team. All of us have done feature films as well, so we brought some of that experience to it. But [CBC] was willing to tell the story in a different way.’ Society’s Child shot in Manitoba two years ago, backed by the CBC, CTF and Manitoba Film & Sound.

‘Some broadcasters really want to have an edge and others are more traditional,’ says Laing. Getting American presales, she adds, is also an important step in the increasingly harsh MOW market. ‘If you have a U.S. presale, it’s often much more attractive to a Canadian broadcaster. That’s the way we’ve been going anyway.’