It was only as an adult and rather by chance that Sarah Polley - born in Toronto in 1979, an actress since childhood and later also screenwriter and director of films such as Away from Her and Take This Waltz - found out that her father Michael was not her father. This discovery came as a bombshell to the Polley family, who had been joking for years about the possible parentage of their baby girl, who looked a little different from the others. But as befits an artistic clan, the attempts to come to terms with the revealed family secret turn out to be complex and reflective. They write and debate, and finally Sarah decides to make a movie: Stories We Tell is a multi-faceted, multi-perspective endeavor that gives all those involved the opportunity to present their respective views of things - which, how could it be otherwise, turn out to be far more complicated on this occasion than initially assumed.
The same applies to the form chosen by Polley, which creates different levels of abstraction through the seamless montage of family interviews, recited memoirs, Super 8 footage that feigns home movie authenticity and personal voiceovers. And creates different versions of the events. They are all true.
