Ben Patrick Yates presents IMPOSTER BROTHERS ENTERTAINMENT’s new film ‘Man Mummy’

Tell us about your new documentary film Man Mummy.

Man Mummy is a light entertainment documentary (LED) film attempting to answer the question – If there was a choice could men endure pregnancy and childbirth?

To help us find the answer we enlisted a talented young Aussie Comedian who is subjected to the most common symptoms of pregnancy. All facets of his life are impacted just like a regular pregnancy; he must adhere to strict dietary guidelines (including no alcohol or smoking) and it culminates with a full-simulated labour.

Whether you have children or not both men and women have an opinion on this subject; after all most men like to think they have a high pain threshold.

From a man’s perspective most believe childbirth couldn’t be that bad otherwise why do so many women have multiple births? This is why we plan to answer this age-old question once and for all. As the old saying goes; if childbirth was up to men then the human race would have died out centuries ago but we suspect this may have come from a woman. We also delve into vasectomy versus tubal ligation and interview a renowned expert from a unique perspective, while having a vasectomy.

There are many hilarious moments throughout the film, which I won’t spoil but needless to say Man Mummy is sure to engage and polarise audience opinions while being extremely entertaining.

What made you produce this kind of documentary film? 

I honestly never saw myself making a documentary but after I sold my last screenplay I decided I needed a change of pace, I wanted to be able to see a project through from concept to distribution.

Previously I would write the script, take anywhere from a month to a year and a half to rewrite, sell it and move on to my next project. I came up with the initial concept around ten years ago but it was during the pregnancy of my third child the concept really started to take shape.

As a man it’s the great unknown, you see you’re significant other go through so many changes, sacrifices and excruciating pain. It’s always the go to argument winner for any woman – and I thought wouldn’t it be great to finally put the argument to rest.

There have been various attempts to put a man through labour, most of which have turned out to be a hoax. While some of these were entertaining I believed to get an accurate assessment we needed to put them through a full term pregnancy not just the labour.

What could this film bring to the viewers? 

We seek to engage, amuse and challenge Australian and world audiences. While Man Mummy will bring a lot of laughter to our female viewers I believe it will also provide a unique insight to many of our male demographic.

I think it will appeal to the wider audience, generating a lot of discussion on a broad range of topics and be as informative as it is funny.

Ultimately we hope the film together with the Man Mummy Diaries (a book, released later this year) will be the go to guide for expectant fathers and males in general everywhere.

Each time we have discussed the project with women they quickly volunteer their partners as future guinea pigs.

What will you do differently on your next project?

I know I have made some initial mistakes and this process has been quite stressful at times but it has also been an extremely beneficial learning experience. For instances I’m well aware I spread myself (and others) a little thin throughout the production. A necessity due to budget constraints, so with my next project I am surrounding myself with the best people I can.

If you could leave our readers with one last piece of business advice, what would it be?

No one will work harder, work longer or work cheaper in your business than you but that doesn’t mean you should try to do everything yourself. Surround yourself with the best people you can, weather it be a mentor, staff or peers.