Sarah Watt
{{Short description|Australian film director (1958–2011)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sarah Watt
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Sarah Ann Watt
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1958|8|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|11|4|1958|8|30|df=y}}
| death_place = West Footscray, Victoria, Australia
| spouse = William McInnes
| children = 2
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Film director, writer, animator
}}
Sarah Ann Watt (30 August 1958{{spaced ndash}}4 November 2011) was an Australian film director, writer, and animator. She is especially known for her 2005 film Look Both Ways.
Early life and education
Sarah Ann Watt{{cn|date=December 2024}} was born in Sydney[http://miff.com.au/60_years_of_miff/film_archive?movieid=11995 Look Both Ways] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401051618/http://miff.com.au/60_years_of_miff/film_archive?movieid=11995 |date=1 April 2012 }}, Melbourne International Film Festival, 2005. on 30 August 1958.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
She completed a Graduate Diploma of Film and Television (Animation) at the Swinburne Film and Television School, Melbourne, in 1990. Her student film Catch of the Day was to reflect the style of future work.{{cite web |title=A Tribute to Sarah Watt |website=Senses of Cinema|date=19 March 2014 |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2011/feature-articles/a-tribute-to-sarah-watt/ |access-date=6 December 2024}}
Career
In 1995, she directed a short film, Small Treasures, which won Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival. 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 School of Film and Television to teach animation, and assisted in the development of many animators, including Academy Award winner Adam Elliot 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.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
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.{{Cite book|title=Clem always could--|last=Sarah.|first=Watt|date=2009|publisher=Lothian Children's|isbn=9780734411150|location=Sydney|oclc=433249367}}{{Cite book|title=Worse things happen at sea|author=McInnes, William|date=2011|publisher=Hachette Australia|others=Watt, Sarah.|isbn=9780733628023|location=Sydney, N.S.W.|oclc=730043085}}
During the post-production of Look Both Ways, Watt was diagnosed with cancer. Her second film My Year Without Sex was released in 2009.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
She died on 4 November 2011 after suffering for six years from breast and bone cancer, aged 53.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-05/sarah-watt-dies-aged-53/3637600 "Australian filmmaker Sarah Watt dies"]. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Retrieved 6 November 2011The Age, Saturday 5 November, Tributes and Celebrations, p. 38
Sarah Watt was married to actor and writer William McInnes. They have two children, Clem (b. 1993) and Stella (b. 1998).{{cite web |title=Roads not travelled: Sarah Watt |website= Steve Dow, Journalist |url=http://www.stevedow.com.au/default.aspx?id=281 |access-date=6 December 2024}}
In the years before her death, Watt had begun developing an animated adaptation of Magic Beach, the beloved picture book by Australian author Alison Lester. The project was considered a personal passion of Watt’s, blending her talent for evocative, painterly visuals with Lester's whimsical storytelling. Following Watt’s death, the project was revived and brought to life by director Robert Connolly, who completed the film in her honor.{{Cite web |title=Imagining Magic Beach for cinema |url=https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/news/imagining-magic-beach-for-cinema |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=VicScreen |language=en}} The adaptation of Magic Beach was released in 2025 as a feature-length animated film, receiving praise for its emotional depth and its tribute to Watt's original vision.{{Cite news |last=Nguyen |first=Giselle Au-Nhien |date=2025-01-12 |title=Magic Beach: how the beloved picture book became a spell-binding animation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/13/magic-beach-movie-film-picture-book-animation |access-date=2025-04-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
Awards
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= Won =
- 2013- Byron Kennedy Award at the AACTA Awards
- 2009- Grass Award at the Australian Directors Guild for My Year Without Sex
- 2006- Best Direction of a First Feature Film at the Australian Screen Directors' Association Awards (now the Australian Directors Guild) 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 for Look Both Ways
- 2006- KNF Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival for Look Both Ways
- 2005- Best Direction at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the AACTA Awards) for Look Both Ways
- 2005- Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Institute Awards (now the AACTA Awards) 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 AACTA Awards) 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 AACTA Awards) for My Year Without Sex
- 2006- Best Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival for Look Both Ways
- 2005- Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival for Look Both Ways
- 2005- Screen International Award at the European Film Awards 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 AACTA Awards) for The Way of the Birds
- 1995- Best Short Film at the Chicago International Film Festival for Small Treasures
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0915016}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140824072307/http://www.theage.com.au:80/entertainment/when-im-gone--20111021-1mbxg.html When I'm gone ...] The Age, 21 October 2011
- [http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/look-both-ways/notes/ 'Look Both Ways'] (2005) on Australian Screen Online
- [https://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/small-treasures/ Small Treasures] (1995) on Australian Screen Online
- [https://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/living-with-happiness/ Living with Happiness] (2001) on Australian Screen Online
{{AACTA Award Best Direction 2000–2019}}
{{Byron Kennedy Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Sarah}}
Category:Australian film directors
Category:Australian animated film directors
Category:Women animated film directors
Category:Australian women film directors
Category:Australian women animators
Category:Australian women writers
Category:Swinburne University of Technology alumni
Category:Deaths from breast cancer in Australia