Stories We Tell
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''Stories We Tell'' is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by
Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...
and produced by the
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
(NFB). The film explores her family's secrets—including one intimately related to Polley's own identity. ''Stories We Tell''
premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
August 29, 2012 at the
69th Venice International Film Festival The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, organized by Venice Biennale, took place at Venice Lido from 29 August to 8 September 2012. The festival opened with the Indian director Mira Nair's ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'', and clos ...
, then played at the 39th
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
and the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. In 2015, it was added to the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
's list of the
top 10 Canadian films of all time The Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time is a list compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival ranking what are the considered the best Canadian films. The list has been compiled once roughly every 10 years starting in 1984, typically assembl ...
, at number 10. It was also named the 70th greatest film since 2000 in a 2016 critics' poll by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.


Plot

The film looks at the relationship between Polley's parents, Michael and Diane Polley, including the revelation that the filmmaker was the product of an extramarital affair between her mother and Montreal producer
Harry Gulkin Harry Gulkin (November 14, 1927 – July 23, 2018) was a Canadian film and theatre producer, arts director, and project manager from Montreal, Quebec. He produced the Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe-winning film ''Lies My Father Told Me''. Lif ...
. It incorporates interviews with Polley's siblings from her mother's two marriages, interviews with other relatives and family friends, Michael Polley's narration of his memoir, and Super-8 footage shot to look like
home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
of historical events in her family's life. The faux home video footage appears exceptionally authentic due to the "canny casting" of the characters. The cast in the Super-8 re-creations includes
Rebecca Jenkins Rebecca Jenkins (born 1959) is a Canadian actress and singer. Acting She had starring roles in the 1990s CBC series ''Black Harbour'', and the films '' Bye Bye Blues'', '' Marion Bridge'', ''Wilby Wonderful'', ''Whole New Thing'', ''South of W ...
as Diane, who had died of cancer on January 10, 1990, the week of Polley's 11th birthday. Polley began work five years before completing the documentary, taking many breaks in between. In her blog post on the
NFB.ca The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
website, Polley reveals that several journalists including Brian D. Johnson and
Matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Canadians, Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book ''The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''. Hays teaches film studies, j ...
had known about the story of her biological father for years, but respected Polley's wish to keep the matter private until she was ready to tell her story in her own words.


Critical response

In his August 29 ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'' blog post, Johnson, one of the film critics who had kept Polley's secret, wrote: Writing for RogerEbert.com, film critic Sheila O'Malley gave the film four out of four stars, calling it " powerful and thoughtful film...
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
is also not what it at first seems, which is part of the point Polley appears to be interested in making."
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film an approval rating of 94% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's critical consensus states "In ''Stories We Tell'', Sarah Polley plays with the documentary format to explore the nature of memory and storytelling, crafting a thoughtful, compelling narrative that unfolds like a mystery."


Awards

On October 20, ''Stories We Tell'' received the Grand Prix Focus for best feature film in the
Festival du nouveau cinéma The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of ...
's Focus category. In December, the film was included in the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
's list of "Canada's Top Ten" feature films of 2012. In 2015, it was added to the festival's list of the
top 10 Canadian films of all time The Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time is a list compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival ranking what are the considered the best Canadian films. The list has been compiled once roughly every 10 years starting in 1984, typically assembl ...
at number 10. On January 8, 2013, ''Stories We Tell'' received the $100,000 prize for best Canadian film at the
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toront ...
, after having been named best documentary by the association the previous month. On March 3, 2013, it was named best feature-length documentary at the
1st Canadian Screen Awards The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012.Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assistant ...
Awards in Toronto. In December 2013, the film received the
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film is the award given for best feature documentary film at the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards. The category was originally named Best Documentary and was awarded as such betwe ...
, the
National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film The National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature is one of the annual awards given (since 1940) to the producer of the film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Notes *≠ Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature no ...
, and the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. History This award had been given since 1988. The award is also known as Best Documentary/Non ...
. On February 1, 2014, the film received the
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing style In literature, writing style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an individual, period, school, or nation. As Bryan Ray notes, however, sty ...
. ''Stories We Tell'' was nominated for a 2013
Cinema Eye Honors The Cinema Eye Honors are awards recognizing excellence in nonfiction or documentary filmmaking and include awards for the disciplines of directing, producing, cinematography and editing. The awards are presented each January in New York and have b ...
award and a 2013
International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...
award. It was among the 15 films shortlisted for the 2013
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
.


Theatrical release

''Stories We Tell'' was released theatrically in Canada starting October 12, 2012. The film had a limited release in the U.S. beginning May 17, 2013.


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stories We Tell 2012 documentary films 2012 films Autobiographical documentary films Best Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian documentary films Documentary films about families English-language Canadian films Films directed by Sarah Polley Films with screenplays by Sarah Polley National Film Board of Canada documentaries Roadside Attractions films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films English-language documentary films