NFB Collection
Stories We Tell
20121 h 48 min 37 secFilm: Documentary
Direction: Sarah Polley
Production: Anita LeeSilva Basmajian
Script: Sarah Polley
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada and developed with the assistance of the CFC-NFB Documentary Program.
In this inspired, genre-twisting new 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 kept by a family of storytellers. She playfully interviews and interrogates a cast of characters of varying reliability, eliciting refreshingly candid, yet mostly contradictory, answers to the same questions. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of their mother, who departed too soon, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving. Stories We Tell explores the elusive nature of truth and memory, but at its core is a deeply personal film about how our narratives shape and define us as individuals and families, all interconnecting to paint a profound, funny and poignant picture of the larger human story.
Availability
Other versions
Subject categories
- Film and Video Arts > DocumentaryWomen
- Media Education > Documentary Film
- Family Studies/Home Economics > Family Diversity and Challenges
- Health/Personal Development > Healthy Relationships
Credits
- participant
- 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
- Geoffrey Bowes
- Tom Butler
- Pixie Bigelow
- Claire Walker
- cast
- 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
- writer
- Sarah Polley
- director
- Sarah Polley
- producer
- Anita Lee
- executive producer
- Silva Basmajian
- editor
- Michael Munn
- director of photography
- Iris Ng
- sound recordist
- Sanjay Mehta
- production designer
- Lea Carlson
- costume designer
- Sarah Armstrong
- music arrangement
- Jonathan Goldsmith
- casting
- John Buchan
- Jason Knight
- narration writer
- Michael Polley
- production supervisor
- Mark Wilson
- production manager
- Janine Heath
- 1st assistant director
- Dave Forsyth
- post-production supervisor
- Lorraine Samuel
- production coordinator
- Kate Vollum
- Christine Kleckner
- set production coordinator
- Jennifer Mesich
- technical coordinator
- Marcus Matyas
- 1st assistant camera
- Eva Percewicz
- additional camera work
- Marcus Matyas
- Bob, Sr. Gordon
- David Sandomierski
- Sarah Polley
- Sanjay Mehta
- Christine Kleckner
- Hugh McJanet
- makeup
- Sarah Craig-McEathron
- hairstylist
- Josie Stewart
- gaffer
- Hugh McJanet
- Walter Klymkiw
- best boy electric
- Alejandro Munoz-Hernandez
- daily gaffer
- Kendall McColl
- key grip
- Zach Zohr
- electric
- Adam Crosby
- grip
- Sean Harvey
- Christopher Logan
- swing
- Michael Wilde
- props master
- Paul Vernon
- set decorator
- David Gruer
- set dresser
- Sasha Tolstoy
- Stephen Depko
- buyer
- Deirdre Morris
- makeup assistant
- Alister Muir
- Teena Black
- daily makeup
- Alister Muir
- Teena Black
- hair assistant
- Lily Champniss
- Lucy Orton
- daily hair
- Lily Champniss
- Lucy Orton
- costume assistant
- Nola Chaters
- Adrienne Baker
- set production assistant
- Missy Dingman
- Matthew Hunwicks
- production assistant
- Graeme Brown
- Ryan Buller
- Adam Belanger
- location manager
- Roman Martyn
- Eardley Wilmot
- assistant location manager
- Marc Cunningham
- Fernando Da Silva
- centre administrator
- Josiah Rothenberg
- marketing manager
- Kelley Alexander
- unit publicist
- Cynthia Amsden
- stills photography
- Michael Gibson
- Ken Woroner
- background casting
- Nancy Harrison
- interview producer
- Sonia Hosko
- interview sound recording
- David Rose
- visual researcher
- Elizabeth Klinck
- music clearances
- Elizabeth Klinck
- location scout
- Catherine Crawford
- generator driver
- Chris Rowles
- driver
- Paul Brideau
- craft service
- Stephanie Dagg
- Dawn Weaver
- dailies colourist
- Josh Olive
- project manager
- Michelle Morris
- digital intermediate colourist
- Mark Kueper
- film timer
- Joscelyn Goode
- sales executive/rep
- Grace Carnale-Davis
- technical operations project manager
- Brian Reid
- digital intermediate producer
- Darcy Arthurs
- digital film supervisor
- Andrew Pascoe
- digital intermediate online editor
- Rob Gyorgy
- digital film technician
- Margaret Mansell
- supervising sound editor
- Dave Rose
- dialogue editor
- Barry Gilmore
- Krystin Hunter
- re-recording mixer
- Lou Solakofski
- Joe Morrow
- mix operator
- Shawn Dickey
- audio coordinator
- Mandy Ley
- title design
- Julia Brown
- additional dailies
- Justin Lovell
Awards
- Rogers Best Canadian Film AwardToronto Film Critics Association Awards
- Allan King Documentary AwardToronto Film Critics Association Awards
- Special Mention for the "Small Stamp" for the Best Film by a filmmaker below the age of 35ZagrebDox
- Focus Grand Prize- with a cash prize of $5000 and $2500 worth of plane tickets from Air FranceFestival du nouveau cinéma
- Best Documentary FilmInternational Film Festival
- Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary) AwardNY Film Critics Circle
- Special Jury Prize- with a $50 000 cash prizeFilm Festival
- Documentary ScreenplayWriters Guild of America
- Best Documentary Film for 2013International Cinephile Society
- Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary AwardCanadian Screen Awards
- Stefan Jarl International Documentary AwardTEMPO Documentary Festival