International Competition

Stories We Tell

Sarah Polley
Screening time  
25.02. / Tuesday, 19:00 - 21:00 Theatre 1  
27.02. / Thursday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 2  
01.03. / Saturday, 14:00 - 16:00 Theatre 4  
Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving.

In this inspired, genre-twisting film, Oscar-nominated author Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who’s telling it. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. She playfully interviews and interrogates a cast of characters. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of their mother, who departed too soon, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving. Stories We Tell explores the elusive nature of truth and memory, but at its core is a deeply personal film about how our narratives shape and define us as individuals and families, all interconnecting to paint a profound, funny and poignant picture of the larger human story.

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Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley, born in Canada in 1979, is a writer, director and an actress whose dramatic features include Away from Her (nominated in 2007 for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and winner of the 2008 Genie Awards for Best Motion Picture and Achievement in Direction) and Take This Waltz (2011), starring Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman.

General sponsor

Stories We Tell

Canada
2012, 108', video

Directed by:
Sarah Polley

Screenplay by:
Sarah Polley

Cinematography:
Iris Ng

Edited by:
Michael Munn

Music:
Jonatha Goldsmith

Producer:
Anita Lee

Produced by:
National Film Board of Canada

Festivals & Awards:

Writers’ Guild of America 2014 – Best Documentary Screenplay; Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2013 – Best Documentary; Best Canadian Film; New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 – Best Non-Fiction Film; National Board of Review, USA 2013 – Best Documentary; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2013 – Best Documentary; Genie Awards 2013 – Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary; Directors Guild of Canada 2013 – Allan King Award For Excellence in Documentary; Bratislava International Film Festival 2013 – Best Documentary; International Documentary Association – IDA 2013; Venice International Film Festival 2012;