Sarah Polley has been writing and directing in Canada since 1999 when she made her directorial debut with the short films, The Best Day of My Life, and then wrote, directed and produced, Don’t Think Twice, starring Tom McCamus and Jennifer Podemski. In 2001, she wrote, directed and co-produced, I Shout Love, starring Kristen Thomson, who won an Actra Award for her performance in the short. The film also won a 2003 Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama. In 2002, Sarah wrote and directed The Harp, one of the episodes of The Shield Stories for television.
In 2007, Sarah wrote and directed Away From Her, starring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, and Olympia Dukakis, adapted from the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.” In addition to two Academy Award nominations (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress), Away From Her garnered a long list of awards including the London Critics Circle Film Award (British Actress of the Year), Los Angeles Film Critics Association (New Generations Award), National Board of Review (Best Actress), National Society of Film Critics (Best Actress), New York Film Critics Circle (Best First Film, Best Actress), Online Film Critics Society (Breakthrough Filmmaker, Best Actress), as well as from Central Ohio, Dallas-Forth Worth, Phoenix, Portland, Robert, San Diego, San Francisco, Sarasota, Sedona, Toronto, and Washington film critic associations. Additionally, Away From her earned a Chlotrudis Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, SAG Award (Best Actress), Golden Globe (Best Actress), seven Genie Award including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Directors Guild of Canada (Best Feature Film, Best Direction) and Best Feature Film from the Writers Guild of Canada.
Polley’s Take This Waltz, her original screenplay which she directed, starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Luke Kirby, recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sarah is also completing work on her first feature length documentary, The Dark Room.
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DIRECTING/PRODUCING/WRITING: |
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Take This Waltz
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The Dark Room
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@Away From Her
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The Harp
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@@ Shout Love
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Don't Think Twice
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The Best Day Of My Life
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@Nominated for Academy Award 2008 - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
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@@Best Short Dramatic Film Genie- 2003, Kristen Thompson: Actra Award- Outstanding Female Performance
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Complete list of awards available upon request.
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