Director Maya Forbes gets personal with her new film, Infinitely Polar Bear

Mark Ruffalo,  Imogene Wolodarsy and  Ashley Aufderheide in, Infinitely Polar Bear

Writer-director Maya Forbes touching dramedy Infinitely Polar Bear played at both Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews.  Based on her own childhood experiences, the film takes place in 1978 Boston and stars Mark Ruffalo as a manic-depressive bi-polar father struggling to raise his young daughters while also trying to win back his wife (Zoe Saldana). The film’s title refers to Forbes’ own father’s joking description of his disorder.

This is such a personal experience for Forbes she decided to cast her 12 year old daughter Imogene Wolodarsky to play her in the film. The performances from the entire cast are wonderful and watching Ruffalo is a revelation. The versatile actor who plays the Hulk can truly do anything. He plays the role so sympathetically that even when he’s causing serious problems you can't help but to love and support him.

I spoke with Maya Forbes during the Toronto International Film Festival about sharing her story with the world and how cathartic the experience has been, casting Mark Ruffalo and her daughter and much more.

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR  opens July 3 in Toronto (Varsity),  Vancouver (Fifth Avenue) and Montreal! The film will open in other cities throughout the summer.

Maya Forbes (born July 23, 1968) is an American writer, producer, and director, most recently of the feature film Infinitely Polar Bear (2014).Her other writing credits include the screenplay of The Rocker (2008) and many episodes of The Larry Sanders Show. She was a co-executive producer of The Larry Sanders Show in its later seasons and executive producer of the sitcom The Naked Truth and the TV miniseries The Kennedy's. Forbes received a few Emmy nominations and WGA Award nominations for her work on The Larry Sanders Show.  An original  song was written for Infinitely Polar Bear by Forbes’ sister China Forbes.