Sarah Ann Watt (30 August 19584 November 2011) was an Australian film director, writer and animator.

Biography

Born in Sydney, Watt completed a Graduate Diploma of Film and Television (Animation) at the Swinburne Film and Television School (now Victorian College of the Arts), Melbourne in 1990. Her student film ''Catch of the Day'' was to reflect the style of future work. In 1995, she directed a short film, ''Small Treasures'', which won Best Short Film at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. In 2000, she made a program for the SBS series ''Swim Between the Flags ''called "''Local Dive''". It was made concurrently with another project that she was directing called "''The Way of the Birds''" based on the 1996 book of the same name by author Meme McDonald. She received the Australian Film Institute's award for Best Director for her 2005 film '' Look Both Ways''. Watt returned to the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

School of Film and Television to teach animation and was to assist in the development of many animators including

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner Adam Eliot in 1996. Watt was instrumental in the development of scripts for all of her students, but left the school to further develop her own projects, returning on occasion as a script and final production assessor. Watt was also a published author, she wrote and illustrated the picture book ''Clem Always Could'' and co-authored ''Worse Things Happen at Sea'' with William McInnes. During the post-production of '' Look Both Ways'', Watt was diagnosed with cancer. Her second film ''

My Year Without Sex ''My Year Without Sex'' is an Australian drama film written and directed by Sarah Watt, opening the 2009 Adelaide Film Festival and given wider release in May 2009. Set in Altona (suburban Melbourne), it is about a 30-something couple, Ross an ...

'' was released in 2009. She died on 4 November 2011 after suffering for six years from

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

and

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

, aged 53."Australian filmmaker Sarah Watt dies"

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, Retrieved 6 November 2011''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'', Saturday 5 November, Tributes and Celebrations, p. 38 Sarah Watt was married to

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

William McInnes Daryl William Mathew Gabriel McInnes (born 10 September 1963) is an Australian film and television actor and writer. He portrayed the role of Matt Tivolli in '' The Time of Our Lives''. He is best known for his roles as Senior Constable Nick Sc ...

. They have two children, Clem (b. 1993) and Stella (b. 1998).

Awards

Watt has won and been nominated for a number of awards:

Won

* 2013-

Byron Kennedy Award The Byron Kennedy Award is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and televisi ...

at the

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

* 2009
Grass Award
at the

Australian Directors Guild The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...

for

* 2006
Best Direction of a First Feature Film
at the Australian Screen Directors' Association Awards (now the

) for Look Both Ways * 2006- Best Screenplay at the Mar del Plata Film Festival for Look Both Ways * 2006- Propeller of Motovum at the Motovun Film Festival for Look Both Ways * 2006
Critics Award
at the

NatFilm Festival The NatFilm Festival, staged annually across 16 cinemas in Copenhagen, in addition to several in Odense, Aalborg (replaced by Kolding in 2007) and Århus, shows the widest programme of films to the largest festival audience in Denmark. Establishe ...

for Look Both Ways * 2006- KNF Award at the

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

for Look Both Ways * 2005- Best Direction at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the

) for Look Both Ways * 2005-

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the

) for Look Both Ways * 2005- Best Film at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for Look Both Ways * 2005- Best Director at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for Look Both Ways * 2005- Best Screenplay- Original at the Film Critics Circle of Australia for Look Both Ways * 2005
Best Direction
at the Inside Film Awards for Look Both Ways * 2005
Best Script
at the Inside Film Awards for Look Both Ways * 2005
FIPRESCI Prize
at the Brisbane International Film Festival for Look Both Ways * 2001- Best Short Animation at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the

) for ''Living with Happiness'' * 1996
Special Jury Prize
at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival for ''Small Treasures'' * 1995
OCIC Award
at the Melbourne International Film Festival for ''Small Treasures''

Nominated

* 2009- Best Screenplay- Original at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the

) for

* 2006
Best Film
at the

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fes ...

for Look Both Ways * 2005
Best Feature
at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

for Look Both Ways * 2005
Screen International Award
at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

for Look Both Ways * 2005
Best Feature Film
at the Inside Film Awards for Look Both Ways * 2000- Best Short Animation Film at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the

) for ''The Way of the Birds'' * 1995
Best Short Film
at the

for ''Small Treasures''

References

External links

Interviews and writing

Interview with Sarah Watt
on ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...

''
When I'm gone ...
The Age, 21 October 2011
Sarah Watt's blogInterview about Watt's other occupations
with Steve Dow
A Tribute to Sarah Watt
in Senses of Cinema Issue 61

Films

*
'Look Both Ways'
(2005) on ''

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

'' *
Small Treasures
' (1995) on ''Australian Screen'' ''Online'' *
Living with Happiness
' (2001) on ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Sarah 1958 births 2011 deaths Australian film directors Australian animated film directors Australian women film directors Australian women animators Australian animators Australian women writers Australian writers Swinburne University of Technology alumni Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia)