A TV Series on the Realities of Life for Francophone Parents

A new TV series follows the daily lives of five Francophone mums trying to raise their young children in French in British Columbia

Raising children in French while living in a predominantly English-speaking environment is a challenge every day. The documentary series “Maman! Mommy!” is about five Francophone mothers living in the Vancouver area who are trying to raise happy and well-rounded children in French, in an ever-changing world that’s dominated by the English language.

In the documentary, we meet parents from different cultures living in different realities, who all have in common the desire to transmit French to their children. But as is often said, French can be learned, while English is “caught”! Despite their motivation and their efforts to transmit French, the mothers in this series wonder if, in the end, they will be “mamans”... or “mommies”?

By following five families for more than a year, the TV series, which finished filming just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows us how these families transmit French, both on a daily basis and over time.

Originally from Quebec, Manitoba, France, and Cameroon, the featured mums share, with frankness and humour, their questions, anxieties, successes, and also the dreams that they have for their children. It's a TV series that will unite local parents with a common theme, and will make them reflect and have a laugh at the same time!

The five episodes of “Maman! Mommy!” were directed by Red Letter Films, a Surrey-based production company, and were televised on Radio-Canada Colombie-Britannique at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays in October 2020.

The series is also available for free viewing on the web-TV platform ICI Tou.tv.