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Stories We Tell

233

108 minutes – Documentary
Language: English
Release date: October 12, 2012
Canadian distributor: Mongrel Media
US distributor: Roadside Attractions

In this inspired, genre-twisting film, Oscar®-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who’s telling it. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets of her own family. She playfully interrogates each family member eliciting refreshingly candid, yet sometimes contradictory, answers to the same questions. As each relates their version of the family story, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of a lively, fun-loving past and the shadows just beneath. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: a messy, intense and loving tangle of contradictions. Stories We Tell explores the elusive nature of truth and memory, but at its core is a deeply personal film about her own life, her mother and her fathers. Stories We Tell is ultimately a love story that measures the power of memory, forgiveness and acceptance.

On January 8, 2013, Stories We Tell won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s 2012 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, which includes a $100,000 cash prize.

Also see: Watch a trailer for Stories We Tell.
Also see: Northernstars reviews Stories We Tell.
Also see: Stories We Tell ranks 26th on BBC’s 100 Greatest Films Directed by Women.
Also see: This film was selected as one of the Top 10 Canadian Films of the 2010s.

Stories We Tell, movie, film, poster,

Crew:

Producer:

Anita Lee
Sonia Hosko

Executive Producer:

Silva Basmajian

Director:

Sarah Polley

Screenwriter:

Sarah Polley

Cinematographer:

Iris Ng

Editor:

Michael Munn

Production Designer:

Lea Carlson

Art Director:

David Gruer (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer:

Sarah Armstrong

Cast: Roles:

Michael Polley
Harry Gulkin
Susy Buchan
John Buchan
Mark Polley
Joanna Polley
Cathy Gulkin
Marie Murphy
Robert MacMillan
Anne Tait
Deirdre Bowen
Victoria Mitchell
Mort Ransen
Geoff Bowes
Tom Butler
Pixie Bigelow
Claire Walker
Rebecca Jenkins
Peter Evans
Alex Hatz
Justin Goodhand
Seamus Morrison
Allie MacDonald
Lani Billard
Andrew Church
Dave Kiner
Jef Mallory
Kristen Corvers
Christine Horne
Jeanie Calleja
James Downing
Tracey Ferencz
Eric Hanson
Kaylin Griffin
Mairtin O’Carrigan
Thomas Hauff
Diane Polley
Sarah Polley

Himself
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Diane Polley
Michael Polley
Harry Gulkin
John Buchan
Mark Polley
Joanna Polley
Susy Buchan
Geoff Bowes
Wayne Robson
Tom Butler
Deirdre Bowen
Anne Tait
Victoria Mitchell
Mort Ransen
Aunt Sheila
Mark Polley (age 11)
Joanna Polley (age 8)
Director (1967)
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Herself (archive footage)
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