Tuesday, January 2-----One of the highlights of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival is the annual Salt Lake City Gala, to be held on Friday, January 19th. This year, the Festival will present the US Premiere of AWAY FROM HER, the directorial debut of Canadian actress Sarah Polley.

Polley, best known for her work in such recent films as THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997), THE LAW OF ENCLOSURES (2000) and her Genie Award-winning performance in MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (2003), co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Alice Munro, whose short story “The Bear Came Over The Mountain” was the source material for the romantic drama. The film is executive produced by her mentor, celebrated Canadian director Atom Egoyan.

AWAY FROM HER tells the story of a man coping with the institutionalization of his wife due to Alzheimer’s Disease. The film stars Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis and Gordon Pinsent. Christie and Pinsent play Fiona and Grant, an Ontario couple who have been married for over 40 years. Now, in the oncoming twilight of their years, they are forced to face the fact that Fiona's "forgetfulness" actually is Alzheimer's Disease. After Fiona wanders away and is found after being lost, they agree she must go into a nursing home. As her condition continues to deteriorate, not only does she not recognize her husband, but begins to transfer her affections to another man. Grant must draw upon his love for Fiona to perform an act of self-sacrifice in order to ensure her happiness.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2006 and will be released in the US later this year by Lions Gate Films. The film promises to be one of the emotional highlights of this year’s Festival event.

Sandy Mandelberger
Sundance Online Dailies Editor