Toronto native Sarah Polley began acting at age four, but it was Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter in 1997 that marked her breakthrough into adult roles. Sarah earned her first Best Actress Genie Award nomination from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for her performance in The Sweet Hereafter, as well as Best Supporting Actress awards from the Boston and Chicago Societies of Film Critics.
Her film credits include Dawn of the Dead, Go; The Weight of Water, eXistenZ, No Such Thing, The Event, My Life Without Me, for which she earned a Best Actress Genie Award, The Secret Life of Words, Guinevere, Don’t Come Knocking, Exotica; The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and more.
Sarah made her feature film directorial debut with the 2006 drama Away From Her, for which she also wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay based on Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. Critically acclaimed around the globe, Away From Her was a gala selection at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals and earned Genie Awards for Best Direction and Best Screenplay. Sarah also received awards for Best Direction and Best Feature Film from the Directors Guild of Canada, Best Screenplay from the San Francisco Film Critics, the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics and Best First Film from the New York Film Critics.
