Women Talking

2023 - 3 - 13

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

What was the best escapist film of the year? 'Women Talking.' (The Washington Post)

The Oscar-winning film is literally a fantasy of female escape, one that helps us imagine a world that for many women does not exist.

… All we have are our dreams, so of course we’re dreamers.” The one song we hear that isn’t a hymn comes from the radio of a truck: “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees. In a culture so patriarchal that women are never taught to read and write, would they have the language to discuss the nature of forgiveness, complicity, power and pacifism? In Manitoba Colony, an ultraconservative religious community in Bolivia, more than 150 women and girls were [drugged and raped in the night for years](https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48265703) before discovering, in 2009, that they had been preyed on not by demons, as they had been led to believe, or by their “ [wild female imagination](https://www.vice.com/en/article/4w7gqj/the-ghost-rapes-of-bolivia-000300-v20n8#:~:text=Some%20called%20it%20%22wild%20female%20imagination.%22),” but by men of the colony armed with a cow tranquilizer and a culture of silence. But we do need movies that help us imagine a world where, as Rooney Mara’s Ona puts it, “ The action rarely leaves the hayloft and never leaves the farm. Yet that’s exactly what our daring band of (mostly) brothers manages to do. “Top Gun: Maverick.” In a culture so oppressive that victims were afraid to tell anyone they were attacked, could they be so bold as to plot their response? In real life, they would be more frantic. In real life, they would be more fearful. [we learn it’s 2010](https://deadline.com/2023/01/women-talking-screenplay-read-sarah-polley-script-1235212167/) from an announcement blaring from speakers on a pickup truck. But the light-flecked hayloft, the horse-drawn buggies, the braided hair and plain dresses clearly refer to the Mennonites and the shocking case that [made the news](https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2087711,00.html) more than a decade ago.

MGM's 'Women Talking' wins the Academy Award for best adapted ... (About Amazon)

Filmmaker Sarah Polley won the Oscar for 'Women Talking,' a film based on the Miriam Toews novel about women in an isolated religious colony.

Women Talking was also a nominee for best picture at the Academy Awards. It shares the story of a group of women in an isolated religious community who grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Miriam Toews and inspired by events at a Mennonite community in Bolivia.

'Women Talking' Director Sarah Polley Developing A Film Inspired ... (The Playlist)

Oscar-winning filmmaker, Sarah Polley, is now taking her awards season experiences and turning them into a new feature film.

So, if she’s found her muse on the awards circuit spectacle—maybe a satire about the superficiality of it all—hey, go with god, and we’ll take it. Polley ruminating on a new project will be heartening news to her fans. Polley said she inadvertently workshopped the idea simply by talking to other nominees on the award circuit competition.

5 Sarah Polley projects to check out after her Oscar win for 'Women ... (Toronto Star)

An Oscar-nominated film, a CBC Gem show and a collection of essays are among the Canadian filmmaker's other works.

[“Take this Waltz”](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2012/06/28/take_this_waltz_review_last_dance_for_romance.html) is a romantic drama in which a woman falls for an artist who lives across the street — and finds herself daydreaming about a life outside of her happy marriage. The decision to tell this and the other stories came after a concussion in 2015. The eight-episode comedy follows a 75-year-old woman (played by Jayne Eastwood) who refuses to follow society’s expectations for a woman her age. [CBC Gem series](https://gem.cbc.ca/hey-lady) delivers laughs in five-minute bursts. [Away From Her](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2007/05/04/away_from_her_a_marriage_adrift.html)” depicts a husband who struggles with his wife’s Alzheimer’s. Among several awards, the documentary earned [praise at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival](http://www.sanadfilmfund.com/en/archive/2012/2012-10-19-Feature-Film-Winners) for “its intelligent style that shows that real life can sometimes be make-believe, and that sometimes in films — as in life — lies may have the charming ability to show a higher truth.” [Jian Ghomeshi](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2022/02/28/sarah-polley-explains-why-shes-ready-to-talk-about-jian-ghomeshi.html) that she says occurred when she was 16 and he was “around 28.” She didn’t initially go public with the story when allegations of sexual assault and misconduct broke against Ghomeshi, who was later acquitted of all charges. [“Run Towards the Danger”](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2022/03/03/sarah-polley-digs-deep-to-reckon-with-her-eventful-life-in-run-towards-the-danger.html) is Polley’s first book of essays which she writes, holds “the most dangerous stories of my life: the ones I have avoided, the ones I haven’t told, the ones that have kept me awake on countless nights.” While the film has received critical acclaim — it was also up for best picture at the Academy Awards — it’s not Polley’s first notable project; the filmmaker has had an extensive career. After she moves into a nursing home, she unknowingly betrays him with another resident. The forbidden love story takes place in Toronto, and [features city landmarks](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2012/06/28/a_take_this_waltz_tour_of_toronto.html) in Kensington Market, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Centre Island and more. [her first Academy Award](https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2023/03/12/jamie-lee-curtis-ke-huy-quans-big-wins-kick-off-the-everything-everywhere-oscars-2023-love-in.html) Sunday night for the drama “Women Talking.” [Donning a tuxedo](https://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2023/03/12/on-the-oscars-2023-red-carpet-the-stars-came-to-serve-these-15-made-our-best-dressed-list.html) as she accepted the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, Polley highlighted in her speech that the film isn’t just about women talking to each other — it’s also about women listening to each other.

Sarah Polley Expertly Addressed the Academy's Lack of Female ... (The Mary Sue)

Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie Women Talking at the 2023 Oscars.

[angered discussion](https://www.themarysue.com/the-2023-oscars-snub-women-directors-againand-the-next-generation-of-filmmakers-is-watching/) about the ceremony’s all-male Best Director category. [2023 Academy Awards](https://www.themarysue.com/tag/oscars/) brought a big night for Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley, who won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie Women Talking. The facts and figures are appalling but not shocking, and I can only encourage the Academy to give credit where it’s due and finally reward all those extraordinary female visionaries.

Other projects of Sarah Polley 'Women Talking' Oscar winner Pipa ... (PiPaNews)

Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley won her first Academy Award for the drama 'Women Talking' on Sunday night. Polley donned a tuxedo as she accepted the Oscar ...

The decision to tell this and the other stories came after suffering a concussion in 2015. In addition to several awards, the documentary received praise at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for “its intelligent style that shows that sometimes real life can be made up, and that sometimes in movies – as in life – lies have the charming ability to reveal a higher truth. After being raised by actors Michael Polley and Diane Polley (who died when Sarah was just 11), the filmmaker shares the painful story of how she found out Michael wasn’t her biological father. is a CBC Gem original comedy series about a wiry old girl with a whiskey voice and a thirst for bourbon. In this personal documentary, Polley delves into her family’s past and uncovers long-hidden secrets. While the film has received critical acclaim—it was also nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards—it’s not Polley’s first notable project; the filmmaker has had an extensive career.