C4 will track 24-hour 'cycle of life' in Bristol

Mum and Me

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Documentary-maker Sue Bourne will chronicle all the births, deaths and marriages that take place on a single day in Bristol in her latest high concept project.

The 60-minute Channel 4 documentary Love, Life and Death in a Day, pencilled in for the Cutting Edge strand, aims to chart the cycle of life in the city over 24 hours.

Bourne plans to film in hospitals, hospices, churches and civil wedding venues and funeral parlours around the city.

The concept builds on Bourne's experience of meeting her neighbours in her most recent C4 documentary, My Street, which she described as a leap into the unknown.

"I love the idea of taking a day at random and having to make a film about what I find. I'm terrified but excited because there's only so much I can know in advance," Bourne told Broadcast.

"I'll have much less control than I've ever had on any of my previous films and it will have to be run with military precision."

Bourne will use small teams for each of the events taking place, and will oversee filming of the death strand of the film. She will also record interviews with the subjects ahead of filming on 20 June, the longest day of the year. C4 plans to broadcast the documentary later this year.

C4 documentaries commissioning editor Meredith Chambers, who ordered the film, said: "Sue's talent is that she makes the most extraordinary, powerful and insightful television out of ordinary people's stories. She can make films that, without you quite knowing it, speak to the important issues in people's everyday lives."

Bourne's most recent project to go out was the acclaimed Alzheimer's film for BBC1, Mum and Me.