Women Talking director thanks Oscars for not being 'mortally offended' by title in screenplay speech

Women Talking has won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2023 Oscars.

Director Sarah Polley adapted the film from the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, and threw some shade at the Academy when she took the stage to accept the trophy.

"First of all, I just want to thank the Academy for not being mortally offended by the words 'women' and 'talking' put so close together like that," Polley said to laughs.

Polley concluded her speech by echoing the last line of the film, which is delivered to a newborn baby, as a dedication to her children: "Your story will be different from ours."

"It's a promise, a commitment, an anchor, and it's what I would like to say with all of my might to my three incredible kids," Polley said.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Sarah Polley accepts the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Women Talking'

In an interview with EW last year, Polley explained what drew her to adapt Toews' novel for her fourth film as director. Her first film, Away From Her, was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men.

"It raised as many questions for me as it answered, and I think that's the mark of a really powerful piece of writing," Polley told EW. "The idea of having great actors engage in a conversation like this and making it cinematic, and giving it a large canvas was so interesting to me. But what also struck me was how it was a study in democracy and what it could look like at its best."

To win the trophy, Women Talking triumphed over All Quiet on the Western Front, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Living, and Top Gun: Maverick.

The 95th Academy Awards are airing live Sunday night from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Check out the full list of winners.

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