Back home

Sarah Polley

Date of birth: 1979-01-08

Place of birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Known for: Acting

Also known as: Sara Polley

Sarah Polley

Biography

Sarah Ellen Polley OC (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009). Polley made her feature film directorial debut with Away from Her (2006), for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polley's second film, Take This Waltz (2011), premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by her first documentary film, Stories We Tell (2012). She also wrote the miniseries Alias Grace, based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. In 2022, Polley wrote and directed the film Women Talking, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sarah Polley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movie Credits

My Life Without Me
3

My Life Without Me

2003-03-07

A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before sh

The Secret Life of Words
3.5

The Secret Life of Words

2005-12-15

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

Dawn of the Dead
3.5

Dawn of the Dead

2004-03-19

A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, fle

The Sweet Hereafter
3.5

The Sweet Hereafter

1997-09-25

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a doz

Don't Come Knocking
3.1

Don't Come Knocking

2005-08-25

Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his

eXistenZ
3.4

eXistenZ

1999-04-14

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marke

Exotica
3.3

Exotica

1994-09-29

In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Fran

Mr. Nobody
3.9

Mr. Nobody

2009-11-06

Nemo Nobody leads an ordinary existence with his wife and 3 children; one day, he wakes up as a mort

The I Inside
3

The I Inside

2004-03-21

When Simon awakens in the hospital after surviving a near-fatal accident, amnesia has erased the las

Go
3.5

Go

1999-04-09

A supermarket clerk decides to step in for an absent drug dealer, setting off an explosive, comedic

One Magic Christmas
2.9

One Magic Christmas

1985-11-22

Ginny Grainger, a young mother, rediscovers the joy and beauty of Christmas, thanks to the unshakabl

The Weight of Water
2.7

The Weight of Water

2001-03-30

A newspaper photographer researches an 1873 double homicide and finds her own life paralleling that

The Event
2.8

The Event

2003-01-01

Manhattan prosecutor Nick is charged with looking into the untimely death of city resident Matt, a m

No Such Thing
3

No Such Thing

2002-03-29

A young journalist journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancé only to encounter a mythical creat

Babar: The Movie
2.9

Babar: The Movie

1989-07-28

Children's book authors Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff's most beloved elephant comes to the big screen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
3.5

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

1988-12-07

An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfi

Guinevere
2.9

Guinevere

1999-09-12

A young girl from an affluent family rebels and becomes involved with a much older photographer.

Splice
2.9

Splice

2010-06-03

Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead w

The Claim
3

The Claim

2000-12-29

A prospector sells his wife and daughter to another gold miner for the rights to a gold mine. Twenty

Last Night
3.3

Last Night

1998-10-23

Various citizens of Toronto anxiously await the end of the world, which is occurring at the stroke o

Heaven On Earth
0

Heaven On Earth

1987-03-01

An armful of destitute orphans transported to the New World at the turn of the century. This is the

Trigger
2.4

Trigger

2010-09-12

Ten years after ending their partnership as rock musicians, two women become re-acquainted in the co

White Lies
2.6

White Lies

1998-03-29

How can a smart middle class girl suddenly turn into a devoted right wing debater? That's what happe

Joe's So Mean to Josephine
2.6

Joe's So Mean to Josephine

1997-01-18

Josephine has her eye on Joe, a hot-headed, petty criminal who taps phones for a living. When she fi

Jerry and Tom
3.1

Jerry and Tom

1998-12-04

Tom and Jerry are two hit men, they work by day at a third-rate second-hand car dealership. Tom is a

Wrath of Gods
2.5

Wrath of Gods

2007-05-06

When Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson set upon Iceland to film Beowulf & Grendel starring Gerard

Blue Monkey
2.5

Blue Monkey

1987-09-25

While working in a greenhouse, a man receives an insect bite after touching an exotic plant. Immedia

Siblings
2.5

Siblings

2004-09-14

Joe and his siblings have a couple of problems. First off, their stepparents are despicably evil. Se

Stories We Tell
3.5

Stories We Tell

2012-10-12

Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, inte

Pretty Kill
0.9

Pretty Kill

1987-03-27

A detective tries to track down a serial killer who is murdering prostitutes while at the same time

This Might Be Good
3

This Might Be Good

2000-09-07

A festival is a concentration of hope. Audiences hungering for something startingly new, famously fa

Lantern Hill
4

Lantern Hill

1989-08-29

Jane, a young Toronto girl, tries to reunite her estranged parents during the 1930’s, sick of her st

Preludes
0

Preludes

2000-11-15

Commissioned by the Toronto International Film Festival to mark the event's 25th anniversary in Sept

Beowulf & Grendel
2.8

Beowulf & Grendel

2005-09-14

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. He

The Life Before This
2.3

The Life Before This

1999-09-15

Several innocent persons are hurt after two robbers, fleeing from the police, run into a neighborhoo

The Planet of Junior Brown
2

The Planet of Junior Brown

1997-09-06

Powerful story about love, struggle and passion of an over protective mother and her piano prodigy.

Children First!
0

Children First!

1996-01-01

A collection of 7 animation short films inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of t

Luck
2.6

Luck

2004-04-30

Shane Bradley, who is fixated on ideas of luck and destiny, tries to win the girl of his dreams. Aft

Hands of a Stranger
2.1

Hands of a Stranger

1987-05-10

A New York cop becomes obsessed with finding his wife's rapist.

Road to Avonlea: The Movie
4.5

Road to Avonlea: The Movie

1990-01-01

After her father is accused of embezzlement, wealthy Sara Stanley is sent to live with her deceased

Confidential
1.1

Confidential

1986-01-01

The year is 1949 and reporter Hugh Jameson is looking for a story. He focuses on Emma Porter, a woma

The Law of Enclosures
2.3

The Law of Enclosures

2000-09-15

Story of the same couple, first in their teenage years and then in their twilight years, paradoxical

Johann's Gift to Christmas
2.5

Johann's Gift to Christmas

1992-09-25

A mouse from the streets and a church mouse try to help a priest and an organist save Christmas by c

Love Come Down
2.6

Love Come Down

2000-08-02

Two brothers in their early 20s, one black, one white, each the other's keeper since their family wa

Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power
3.4

Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power

2019-11-07

The views and thoughts of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood have never been more relevant than today.

The Hanging Garden
3.1

The Hanging Garden

1997-09-05

William, a once obese and troubled teen, goes back to his family's home after being gone, without wo

The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen
3.9

The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen

2008-04-08

This is an all new feature length documentary, with interviews from almost everyone involved with th

Sugar
2.4

Sugar

2004-05-22

Cliff receives an unusual 18th birthday gift from his younger sister — marijuana, alcohol, a subway

The Big Town
2.8

The Big Town

1987-09-25

It is 1957. J.C. Cullen is a young man from a small town, with a talent for winning at craps, who le

Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
3.3

Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women

2014-08-10

Using rare footage and exclusive interviews with filmmakers from all over the globe, "Reel Herstory"

Dermott's Quest
3

Dermott's Quest

2003-03-01

A man stuck in a rut takes his girlfriend to a medieval festival.

The Incredible Time-Travels of Henry Osgood
2.8

The Incredible Time-Travels of Henry Osgood

1986-03-09

A college professor wishes he could live in Victorian England. Through a scientific experiment that