If our Canadian readers are watching the Oscars on Sunday and see a touching and lengthy two minute spot for margarine, chances are it’s Sarah Polley’s latest short.
Entitled, “The Heart,” Polley’s latest directing gig stars Sarah Manninen and Jean-Michel Le Gal and it “follows a woman through phases of her life and explores the chambers of her heart.” The piece was made to support Heart & Stroke Foundation Of Canada and was meant to shed light on Heart Month, which just passed in February.
The spot is set to be unveiled during Sunday’s broadcast of the Oscars on the Canadian network CTV, however, upon finding out it would be tied into an ad for Becel margarine, Polley has pulled her name from the credits, and said in a statement “I have since learned that my film is also being used to promote a product. Regretfully, I am forced to remove my name from the film and disassociate myself from it.”
Apparently, the film was commissioned by Becel — now whether that means they were involved from the start or came to an arrangement with the Heart & Stroke Foundation Of Canada — isn’t made clear. We imagine it was the latter scenario, as we can’t imagine Polley having agreed to direct the film in the first place if Becel rang her up on the phone.
It’s certainly a regrettable situation, but regardless, we’re still curious to see the piece and will put up with the mindnumbing drivel from Canada’s intolerable “eTalk Daily” team to try and catch it.
I bet you she knew all along. And then realized it wasn't very indie of her to have directed a spot with a corporate sponsor.
So she 'pulls' her name off the spot. Bullshit. Everyone now knows it's a Sarah Polley spot. And she know looks like an indie saint by having refused to give into the man.
By the way, Becel has been a sponsor of the Heart Truth campaign since early 2008.
http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20100302_142625_13120
And this article from mid-Dec 2009 in the Globe and Mail (the same paper you source in the above story), identifies Becel as a sponsor of the film.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/sarah-polleys-new-work-gets-oscar-debut/article1399110/
Or she didn't know and didn't want to do a margarine ad. I find that believable as well.