Stories Sarah Tells

Photo courtesy the NFB

Chalk up another win for Sarah Polley and Stories We Tell. The annual Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards were handed out last night at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the annual gala acknowledged the work of Miss Polley and a handful of her peers who have made significant contributions to the arts in Canada. The event paid tribute to the honourees by including short films produced by the National Film Board of Canada, which has participated in the event for the past six years by offering cinematic profiles of the celebrated artists. The films capture the distinct flair and sense of creativity that make artists such as Polley worthy of the award. (It’s much more engaging than a speech, eh?)  

Polley was honoured with the short Stories Sarah Tells, produced by her Stories We Tell collaborator Anita Lee. Sarah is a quirky little ditty penned and performed by Ann Marie Fleming that looks at the story of Sarah’s life in Canadian film. The animation by Kevin Langdale unravels the yarn of Polley’s evolution as an artist, taking her flair for storytelling—especially as it pertains to the awkward messiness of love—and showing us why Polley’s is one of the smartest voices this country has to offer. Take a look:

Stories Sarah Tells by ONFB , National Film Board of Canada

Films for the other recipients—classical violinist Andrew Dawes, Montreal arts patron Jean Pierre Desrosiers, music producer/recording artist Daniel Lanois, independent filmmaker, Jean Pierre Lefebvre, actress Viola Léger, and actor  Eric Peterson—are all available to stream on nfb.ca and are available on NFB apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV. (Click links to see the other films.)

Congrats to all the winners! More info about the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards can be found here. (PS: Stories We Tell is now available to rent/own on DVD/digital download!)