The Lies We Tell Ourselves

The Lies We Tell Ourselves is not your typical film viewing, but more an immersive experience into the often chaotic and always fascinating mind of the filmmaker. As I heard one audience member say, "This could only have been made by Saara Lamberg" and it is true. An impressive multi-hyphenate (writer-director-producer-actor), Saara's unique vision and presence carries the film. TLWTO is a funny and thought-provoking excursion through the trials and tribulations of the creative process, from constant rejections from funding bodies (one of the film's most hilarious and memorable sequences) to the filmmaker wondering who she has to sleep with to get her movie made. In the place of a linear narrative is layer upon layer of metatextuality with the director engaging directly with the audience and confronting their expectations of what a film should be. The deadpan humour and existential angst woven throughout is reminiscent of some of the great Scandinavian absurdist film directors... Roy Andersson particularly came to mind. Now if only the funding bodies would finally throw some support behind Saara Lamberg!