4 • POSTED ON May 14, 2008 SARAH POLLEY TO BE HONOURED AT THE SUMMER INSTITUTE OF FILM AND TELEVISION 2008 Posted by Canadian Screen Training Centre
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OTTAWA – Academy Award-nominee Sarah Polley will be honoured at the 28th Annual Summer Institute of Film and Television (SIFT) in Ottawa this May.
OTTAWA – Academy Award-nominee Sarah Polley will be honoured at the 28th Annual Summer Institute of Film and Television (SIFT) in Ottawa this May. Polley, who was nominated in 2008 for Best Adapted Screenplay for Away From Her, will receive the Anthony Minghella Memorial Award.
“I’m honoured and quite touched to be receiving this award,” said Polley. “Anthony Minghella was an exceptional director, and to be presented with an award in his name is a special experience for me.”
Polley has been acting since the age of six and writing and directing since 1999. She has over 50 acting credits, has won three Genies and two Geminis, and has been honoured by the Writers Guild of Canada. Her impressive body of work has made her a household name in Canada.
The award is presented for outstanding contribution to Canada’s screen industry by the Canadian Screen Training Centre (CSTC), an Ottawa-based, not-for-profit organization and Canada’s first national training school for film and television. The CSTC educates filmmakers from around the country with programs led by top industry professionals.
Max Berdowski, the Executive Director and CEO of the CSTC, explained the choice of Polley as recipient of the inaugural award.
“The CSTC has always seen itself as a champion of independent film and few embody independent film in Canada as fully as Sarah Polley,” said Berdowski. “She is responsible for a powerful piece of filmmaking with Away From Her. We’re thrilled to have her be a part of this year’s SIFT.”
The Board of Directors of the CSTC conceived of the award to honour the passing of Minghella, who died in March following surgery. Minghella was a long-time supporter of the CSTC and Honourary Chair of its Board of Advisors. He premiered his film Truly, Madly, Deeply at the CSTC’s 1992 Summer Institute. He also presented a fundraiser with Michael Ondaatje for the CSTC at the National Arts Centre.
On top of his Best Director Oscar, Minghella received Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for The English Patient in 1997 and The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000, an achievement that Polley paralleled at the 2008 Academy Awards.
SIFT’s founder Tom Shoebridge will present Polley with the Anthony Minghella Memorial Award on behalf of the CSTC on May 28th.
“Along with being a truly outstanding film artist - writer, director and producer - Anthony was a brilliant, funny and warm person,” said Tom Shoebridge. “He gave generously to us, and his contributions will not be forgotten.”
Now in it’s 28th year, the Summer Institute has drawn famed directors Deepa Mehta (of the Earth, Fire, Water trilogy) and Bruce McDonald (The Tracy Fragments, Hard Core Logo) as well as recent Oscar winners Marcy Page (Ryan) and Hubert Davis (Hardwood) among many others. SIFT presents workshops in producing, directing, documentary, screenwriting, acting, and new media.
SIFT alumni include Academy Award-winning producer Denise Robert (The Barbarian Invasions), Gemini-winning producer Geoff D'Eon of This Hour has 22 Minutes and CFTPA Indie Award-winning producer Janis Lundman of the critically-acclaimed crime drama, Durham County. Recent SIFT graduates have key roles on projects such as Up the Yangtze, Rent a Goalie, and Life With Derek, and have taken positions at leading broadcasters including CTV.
This year’s highlights include a documentary-making workshop with Peter Wintonick (Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media), a feature-screenplay writing session with Gerald Wexler (St. Urbain’s Horseman, Margaret’s Museum), an acting workshop with R.H. Thomson (The Englishman’s Boy, Road to Avonlea) and a hands-on directing workshop with Peter Moss (St. Urbain’s Horseman).
Quotes from SIFT alumni:
Laura Milliken, President, Big Soul Productions: “I have been a producer for five years and I learned more about producing in the last five days than in the entire length of my career thus far.“
Ryan Sutherland, freelance producer, Toronto: “SIFT offers opportunities to test-bed ideas with industry professionals. Such opportunities do not exist anywhere else in the industry.”
Arisa Cox, Entertainment New Anchor, E! Canada: “Bar none the best intensive course I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been in the industry for six years. It’s impossible not to be inspired at SIFT.”
JoAnne Bennison, freelance writer/producer, Vancouver: “A riveting, fast-paced peek into the workings of Canada’s film industry… practical how-to advice on how to improve and polish scripts.”
To request information on CSTC workshops or to arrange interviews with one of our presenters, email Drew Gough at info@cstc.ca or call 613-789-4710 or 1-800-742-6016.
