In her 2013 personal documentary film Stories We Tell, filmmaker Sarah Polley (renown actress and filmmaker), takes as her subject the impact of hidden truths on a family. In this case, her own.
Looking at her family’s story, and the loss of her mother when Polley was 11 years old, the filmmaker weaves a complex narrative of secrets and fantasies about this strong mother who chose to live life on her own terms. Through intimate Interviews with her siblings, her father, and family friends, we join the filmmaker on a journey of self-discovery. Polley starts each interview by asking, in true analytic form: “Tell the story from the beginning until now.” As these stories unfold, we witness the shifting of reality, and the pain and confusion of Polley’s early life. Through it all, the dynamics of her family, and the protean shape of the family secrets, are structured in a unique approach to storytelling that in the end explores the documentary film form itself, while exploring all that can remain hidden over time.
Join Reyna Cowan, PsyD, LCSW as we screen and read the film together.
Reyna Cowan, PsyD, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst and a child therapist. She is a Personal and Supervising Analyst at PINC, and is faculty at both PINC and at SFCP. She teaches extensively on child and adolescent issues, primitive states, and Winnicott, as well as courses on film and film criticism. She runs a free monthly salon series for PINC linking psychoanalysis to the arts and culture called “Second Fridays.” She has a private practice in Oakland where she works with adults, couples, adolescents, and children.
