[10] It incorporates interviews with Polley's siblings from her mother's two marriages, interviews with other relatives and family friends, Michael Polley's narration of his memoir, and Super-8 footage shot to look like home movies of historical events in her family's life.

The faux home video footage appears exceptionally authentic due to the "canny casting" of the characters.

[11] The cast in the Super-8 re-creations includes Rebecca Jenkins as Diane, who had died of cancer on January 10, 1990, the week of Polley's 11th birthday.

[12] In his August 29 Maclean's blog post, Johnson, one of the film critics who had kept Polley's secret, wrote: Now that I've seen her documentary, which premieres in Venice next Wednesday, I'm glad I didn't spill the beans.

The website's critical consensus states "In Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley plays with the documentary format to explore the nature of memory and storytelling, crafting a thoughtful, compelling narrative that unfolds like a mystery.