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(February 19, 2008 - Toronto, Ontario) -- The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced that Sarah Polley will be honoured with the 2008 Claude Jutra Award for her film Away From Her, which has been nominated for 12 Genie Awards. This annual Award recognizes outstanding achievement by a first-time feature film director and was established in 1993 in honour of renowned Quebec director, the late Claude Jutra.

A rising talent behind the camera, Sarah Polley has been writing and directing for the last six years.  She has directed the short films The Best Day of My Life and Don’t Think Twice as well as The Harp, an episode for the television series The Shield Stories.  In 2003, her critically acclaimed dramatic short I Shout Love was given an Actra Award and a Genie Award.  A multifaceted actress, Polley made her transition from child to adult star with her Genie-nominated performance in The Sweet Hereafter and since then has been adding to her growing portfolio of challenging roles in film and television.

Away From Her is the lyrical screenplay adaptation of celebrated author Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. It recounts a beautifully moving love story between a husband and wife of 50 years - Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Julie Christie) - who are faced with the power and fragility of memory.

The Jutra Award will be presented to Polley at the 28th Annual Genie Awards to be held in Toronto on March 3rd.