Nomination forOscar was so unexpected that at the hour of the expected announcement Sarah Polley scheduled a visit to the doctor: in the operating room, he learned that it had been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and that Women say – The right to choose, which she wrote and directed, reached the top ten. After the joy, the first thought came to excluded female colleagues, in particular to black directors: “It was such an important year for them, I’m sorry,” she said, thinking of Gina Prince-Bythewood and woman kingAlice Diop and her Saint OmerChinonye Chukwu-e Before. He made this film precisely to say that “there is a system that can be broken.”

women talking based on the book by Miriam Toews. Women who speak (Marcos y Marcos): “It hit me on an emotional level, it made me feel like I was in the midst of a thousand revolutions,” says the Canadian director and actress. It’s about a modern religious community in an unspecified part of the world (but inspired by a real event among the Bolivian Mennonites) where women discover they’ve been drugged and abused for years. Their accusations are dismissed as women’s talk women talking exactly, but, taking advantage of the days of detention of the perpetrators (“also for their protection”), some members of the community find themselves in a barn for discussion (again, women talking, here with a positive meaning) decide what to do: forgive, stay and fight, or leave and start a new community? “It’s an important story,” explains El Sarah Polly. “Because it’s about things that don’t work in our world, the violence of hierarchical power structures, strong themes like anger, responsibility, retribution, faith, forgiveness. It also shows what happens when a group of people who think differently try to imagine a different world. Then you can not get stuck in the traps of gender roles, you can talk not only about what we want to destroy, but also about what we want to build. We already know what we no longer want to see… It seems to me important at this moment to convey this sense of possibility and hope, this ability to really confront. The women in the film believe that conversation is critical to the evolution of their world.”

It starred a top actress team starring Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Rooney Mara. All the women and only one man, Ben Whishaw, the shy August, called to take minutes of the meeting (women can’t learn, so they can’t read or write). The only man is listening. While the others, the rapists, are never shown, except for a single scene where Salome/Claire Foy, the most ferocious of the group (“I’d rather burn in hell than let another man satisfy his violent desires on the body of my 4-year-old daughter”) attacks them; and a pile of bodies in the pen. Men almost as an abstract concept, the history of the community as a universal theme.

Sarah took years and a lot of effort to put together the cast, she created it almost like a theatrical team, no overflowing egos, actresses who could play any other role in the film. And really Claire was supposed to be She, Jessie was introduced as Salome… All people with a strong sense of community, capable of creating space. When Sarah Polley realized that she would also like to direct, she agreed some principles with the production (among others, Frances McDormand, who has a cameo role). He wanted a “sustainable” work environment: Sarah has three small children (and Rooney was in her first job since having Little River with Joaquin Phoenix): a civilized schedule, zero pressure, respect for everyone’s time, listening skills, a fully collaborative atmosphere and always there is a psychologist. “A gentle, soft set,” Whishaw defines it, “without the competition and tension that I usually feel.”

There were other men on the crew, such as the director of photography, but it was also predominantly an intimate female context, where, according to the actor, he had confirmation of what he considered common knowledge: “Women are really driven by deep intuition.” .

The film has an epic flavor, the final scene is biblical. Behind the barn, the expanses are large, one can feel the beauty of the world, which those women do not yet know. And the delicate music of Hildur Gudnadottir – guitar and a little more – respectfully accompanies the story, propping up the turning points. Icelandic composer, Oscar winner for Joker, she was full of work: “I wanted her at all costs,” says Sarah. “Instinct told me that this was the right thing to do. And he really opened up worlds for us, his music was crucial in helping us find the film at the editing stage.”

For his trio of miracles, he has almost touching words. “Claire is a core of energy and passion, she has a unique sense of purpose. I saw her repeat her most brutal monologue a hundred times over the course of two and a half days – with so many people on stage it often took many takes – and yet not a single hesitation, always the same intensity. She’s a meticulous, acting machine, I’ve never seen such a level of skill, stamina and precision.” Jessie Buckley as Mariche, a sharp and reactive woman because she is hurt and scared. “There’s a whole generation of actors,” says Sarah, “Brando, De Niros, who are kind of a powerhouse, they’ve got raw, pure power, like they’re holding the room in their hands. Well, when Jessie arrived at the set, you saw a group of technicians running to the monitors: no one wanted to miss a single second of her acting. She is incredibly attractive. You give everything, you leave nothing.” Finally, Rooney Mara: “She brought an energy to the set that is very similar to what She brings to the film. It is a source of empathy and compassion, a receptacle for all emotions that have come. I think we all felt her support, she is incredibly relevant as an actress, she has no ego, just a huge desire to make herself vulnerable – she is a conduit of love. It was the glue that held the entire production together. He is a silent man, but his compassion and kindness make a noise.” women talkingas he wrote diversity, is “non-violent protest” or, as Frances McDormand prefers to say, “a way to shed light on matriarchy that has existed since time immemorial.” And it leaves you feeling that somehow these women will succeed, that somehow we will succeed. Because we always succeed.