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Sarah Polley

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  • Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Known for 'Women Talking'
  • Director, Screenwriter, and Former Actor
  • Author of 'Run Towards the Danger'
  • Lifelong Political Activist

Oscar-winning filmmaker, actor, and author Sarah Polley is a storyteller focused on personal stories with powerful cultural resonance. Polley’s film Women Talking received a Best Picture nomination and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, reverberating with critics and audiences alike as a “powerful act of non-violent protest” (Variety). Polley's previous films include Away From Her - which was nominated for two Academy Awards, Take This Waltz, and her documentary film Stories We Tell, which won Best Documentary Film awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and the New York Film Critics Circle, as well as a Writer’s Guild of America award for its screenplay. Polley executive produced and wrote the acclaimed Netflix limited series Alias, Grace, adapted from Margaret Atwood’s novel. In memorable events, Polley speaks on the creative process, the value of storytelling, confronting fear, and what it means to be the author of one’s own life.

Polley starred in a wide variety of films including The Sweet Hereafter (Best Supporting Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics), Go (Independent Spirit Award nomination), Dawn of the Dead, Mr. Nobody, and The Weight of Water, to name a few. Polley is the author of the New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory, a well-received collection of essays detailing her relationship with her body and how her memory of past and present experiences has contributed to her evolving understanding of self. In profound and ultimately uplifting conversations, Polley inspires her audiences to harness the power of storytelling to live a fuller life.

 
Sarah Polley headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • New York Film Festival
  • Toronto Film Festival
  • San Francisco Film Institute
  • Ottawa Writer's Festival

Sarah Polley Shares The True Story Behind Her Film, “Women Talking” | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Sarah Polley
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‘Run Towards the Danger’: Confronting Fear to Live a Fuller Life

In this empowering moderated conversation, award-winning filmmaker and author SARAH POLLEY shares the wisdom from her acclaimed book Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. An exquisite storyteller who is unafraid to confront complex experiences with honesty, Polley reveals how she learned to overcome challenges by running toward danger. In this heart-opening conversation, Polley inspires audiences to move toward discomfort and unease in order to live a fuller life – to confront difficult stories and deep fears in order to be free.

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Mental Health: Living Alongside Anxiety in a Creative Way

Award-winning filmmaker, actor, and author SARAH POLLEY is known for her vulnerable and complex storytelling that emphasizes our shared humanity. In this moderated conversation, Polley offers an empowering message about the reality of living with anxiety. Polley shares her personal experience learning to move forward alongside anxiety (instead of waiting for it to pass) and reveals how she learned to stop interpreting anxiety as a stop sign and instead use that energy to move forward in a deeper, more creative way.

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The Creative Process

Multi-hyphenate creative SARAH POLLEY has spent decades honing her creative process across mediums – acting, directing, screenwriting, and as an author. In this inspiring moderated conversation, Polley guides audiences to get in touch with their own unbridled creative energy by confronting obstacles and challenges. Polley reveals how connecting with your internal creative wisdom generates new solutions and motivation to overcome any obstacle.

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Storytelling Our Own Lives

Exquisite storyteller SARAH POLLEY is known for her resonant films Women Talking and Stories We Tell and her acclaimed book Run Towards the Danger. Polley’s work explores the importance of creative narratives in making sense of our own lives and the world around us. As we explore the multi-faceted nature of the stories we tell ourselves, Polley invites audiences to reexamine these narratives, embrace the complexities, and move forward with greater compassion and wisdom as we make sense of the bewildering nature of our lives.

Books by Sarah Polley
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Biography
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