Toronto-born film-maker Sarah Polley certainly deserved her moment of glory at the New York premiere of her directorial debut on Wednesday night. The 28-year-old, who lensed her first film, Away From Her, in Ontario, has received rave reviews for the work and was clearly enjoying every minute of her big night in the limelight.
Sarah was celebrating her film's North American debut with its leading lady Julie Christie. The two developed a close bond while co-starring in No Such Thing, and the young director - who lost her mother when she was 11 - describes the 66-year-old actress as one of her surrogate mothers. She says she was convinced the silver screen legend was perfect in the role as soon as she read the book. "I was so unbelievably moved by the story," she explains, referring to the novel upon which Away From Me is based. "I had just finished working with Julie Christie, and as I read, I kept seeing Julie’s face in the character of Fiona."
It took a year for her to persuade the Doctor Zhivago star to take the role, however. In the end, Julie agreed, she says: "BecauseSarah is this extraordinary talent, and I did not want anyone else to have the experience of working with her on her first movie."
And the touching tale of a couple dealing with Alzheimers obviously made an equal impact on the Oscar-winning film veteran. "It's a pretty wonderful and astonishing and heart-warming thing," said the 66-year-old actress. "And we had a fair share of moments like that on this film."
The flick, which is already generating talk of a possible Oscar nomination, goes on general release in Canada on May 4.
Photo: WireImage
Photo: Startraks
