Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley wins best adapted screenplay Oscar for ‘Women Talking’

Polley adapted the script from Manitoba author Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name. The movie’s ensemble cast includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley.

“I just want to thank the Academy for not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking’ being so close together like that,” Polley said as she accepted the award.

“Miriam Toews wrote an essential novel about a radical act of democracy in which people who don’t agree on every single issue managed to sit together in a room and carve out a way forward together, free of violence.

“They do so not just by talking but also by listening.”

Polley beat out other screenplay nominees from films “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Living,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

She was previously nominated in the same category for the 2007 relationship drama “Away from Her.”

Earlier on Sunday night another Toronto filmmaker took home hardware — director Daniel Roher’s “Navalny” won best documentary.

Roher’s film is an investigative look into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is now in a gulag in Russia and believed to be in solitary confinement.

“I would like to dedicate this award to ‘Navalny’ to all political prisoners around the world. Alexei — the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all. We cannot, we must not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it rears its head,” Roher said on stage.

In an interview ahead of the awards, Roher said all the attention the film is getting has been “bittersweet,” but he hopes that the spotlight will help keep Navalny alive.

Roher won alongside Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and fellow Canadian Shane Boris.

The other documentary nominees included the Canada-U.S. co-production “Fire of Love,” which was co-produced by Boris.

Also among the Canadian winners was makeup artist Adrien Morot, who was recognized for his transformation of actor Brendan Fraser in “The Whale.”

Morot won the Oscar for best makeup and hairstyling alongside Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley.

The Montreal-born artist helped transform Fraser into an obese man for the Darren Aronofsky film about a reclusive professor trying to reconnect with his daughter.

As part of the routine, the team glued several thick pieces of silicone onto Fraser’s face and body, before applying makeup.

“The Whale” received some criticism after it was released for its depiction of the character’s weight.

Though Morot acknowledged the complaints in a recent interview with The Canadian Press, he said his job was to make the prosthetic suit as authentic as possible.

“The Whale” is Morot’s fifth collaboration with Aronofsky following “Mother!,” “Noah,” “The Fountain,” and “White Boy Rick.”

“Our director Darren Aronofsky pushed us to new heights. Thank you,” Morot said on stage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2023.

by Canadian Press

Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley wins best adapted screenplay Oscar for ‘Women Talking’

More Local News