Q

'Fear of Margaret Atwood is a powerful thing': how Sarah Polley turned Alias Grace into a TV series

Canadian writer and director Sarah Polley discusses her latest project, adapting Margaret Atwood's book, Alias Grace, into a TV series.
Writer and director Sarah Polley with Tom Power in the q studios in Toronto, Ont. (Melody Lau/CBC)

Sarah Polley's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace, a story about multiple truths, is a natural next step in Polley's celebrated career. The Canadian filmmaker is known for telling stories about the complexity and duality of people, especially women, who chafe against the brutal constraints society sets upon them.

Polley, whose career has included directorial efforts like Away From Her and Stories we Tell, first came to fame in Canada as an actor in Road to Avonlea.

(L-R) Producer/screenwriter Sarah Polley, screenwriter/producer Margaret Atwood and actress Sarah Gadon attend Alias Grace" Press Conference during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 12, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)

Polley talks to q host Tom Power about her career and taking on Margaret Atwood's work in her latest project.

— Produced by Shannon Higgins