My Life Without Me

Spanish-Canadian filmmaker Isabel Coixet wrote and directed the film, which was released in 2003. Coixet adapted the screenplay from stories in Nanci Kincaid's collection 'Pretending the Bed Is a Raft.' The film earned Coixet several international directing accolades.

Sarah Polley stars as Ann, a young mother who receives a terminal cancer diagnosis and decides to keep it a secret from her family. The cast includes Scott Speedman as her husband Don, Mark Ruffalo as a man she befriends, and Deborah Harry as a neighbor. Amanda Plummer also appears in a supporting role.

Yes, the film is adapted from short stories in Nanci Kincaid's collection 'Pretending the Bed Is a Raft,' published in 1998. Director Isabel Coixet reworked the material into an original screenplay. Kincaid's work focuses on Southern women's lives, which Coixet transplanted to a Pacific Northwest setting.

The film is set in a trailer park on the coast of British Columbia, Canada, where Ann lives with her husband and two young daughters. The Pacific Northwest coastal landscape contributes significantly to the film's melancholic atmosphere. Principal photography took place in and around Vancouver.