Acclaimed filmmaker and actress Sarah Polley says a painful family secret inspired her new documentary, “Stories We Tell.”
The Toronto-based star says she had long suspected her late mother, who died when Polley was 11, may have had an affair that led to her conception.
A DNA test in 2006 confirmed that a man she had met almost by accident was her biological father.
Polley hid the information for a year and revealed it to the father she grew up with after learning that a journalist had discovered her secret.
Blogging on the National Film Board of Canada website, the Oscar-nominated writer-director reveals that she made the film after learning the identity of her biological father.
“Stories We Tell” premiered today at the Venice Film Festival.
