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.