Sarah Polley doc gets U.S. distribution deal

Sarah Polley’s debut documentary feature Stories We Tell has a U.S. distributor after striking a chord with Toronto International Film Festival audiences.

Roadside Attractions has acquired all U.S. rights to the National Film Board-produced film, which explores the story of Polley’s own parentage. The NFB announced the deal Tuesday.

Stories We Tell made its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, was considered a sleeper hit at Telluride and met a warm reception in Toronto.

Polley, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her screenplay for Away from Her, revealed the family secret behind Stories We Tell in a blog ahead of its first screening.

In the blog, she said the film arose from a painful personal incident in which she learned her mother had had an affair that led to her own conception. Using home movies and interviews with family members, she explores how her own family dealt with that secret.

Roadside plans an early 2013 theatrical release in the U.S.