Sarah Polley

10 Directors to Watch

By ANTHONY KAUFMAN

One of Canada's most beloved ingenues, Sarah Polley says her years of acting experience (including "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Go!") didn't prepare her for the director's chair. "It's really amazing that you can be on sets your whole life and really learn nothing about the filmmaking process," says Polley, whose poignant feature debut "Away From Her" chronicles the effects of Alzheimer's disease on an elderly couple. "You're not really there for the important parts -- the construction of the film, and the conversations that go on before you arrive and after you leave."

But after making a few shorts, including 2003's "I Shout Love," Polley says that by the time she arrived on the set of "Away From Her" she could trust her crew enough to make up for her inexperience.

Cinematographer Luc Montpellier, who shot "I Shout Love" and "Away From Her," acknowledges Polley is a neophyte but, he says, "She has the instinct of a veteran" and "knows exactly what she wants."

But little prepared Polley for "the sheer unmitigated panic that ensued," she says, when directing such luminaries as Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. "I'm not sure that shock ever went away," she says.

While Polley can thank Cameron Crowe, among others, for helping turn her into a filmmaker -- she backed out of starring in "Almost Famous" to make a short on her own instead -- she has since realized, "It's important to use the other part of your brain, and not just be prey to your emotions all the time as an actor."

Polley remains committed to directing. She's developing two new projects, neither of which shares much with "Away From Her." "I'm really interested in completely different stories and different worlds," she says. "I'm still learning so much that I don't want to have an auteur imprint on something when I haven't figured out who I am as a filmmaker."

But like Polley's resolute acting choices, she appears content working largely outside of Hollywood. "It was just so idyllic," she says of the "freedom and support" given to her by Canadian funder Telefilm on her first feature, "I don't know how I would enter the real world."

VITAL STATS
Age: 28
Provenance: Toronto
Inspired by: Terrence Malick, Ingmar Bergman, Krzysztof Kieslowski. "And I'm influenced by all the filmmakers that I've worked with."
Reps: Agent, Gaby Morgerman, WMA; manager, Frank Frattaroli, Widescreen