Australian Story remembers Sarah Watt

The 2011 finale of Australian Story will pay tribute to filmmaker Sarah Watt who lost her battle with cancer last week.

This is a replay of an episode first aired in 2005 but has additional new footage, including an introduction from Margaret Pomeranz and audio from Justine Clarke reading Sarah’s words from Worse Things Happen at Sea.

“When William Met Sarah” focusses the creative bond she shared with her husband, William McInnes.

Pomeranz said, “Like so many people, the filmmaking community was shocked and saddened by the news of the death of Australian filmmaker Sarah Watt last week. What a loss. This Australian Story was first broadcast just before the release of her acclaimed first feature film Look Both Ways – a film I just loved. Australia has lost a wonderful filmmaker and a brave and gracious person, as you’ll see.”

“How do you measure a fair share of time? By quantity or quality? Mine has been of excellent quality. In a few years I’d be pushing the life expectancy of indigenous Australians. A real tragedy. That I am not. I can’t complain. The best thing I can do is balance the good luck with the bad and go with good grace, or in the current parlance of my children, suck it up and get on with it. For in our home, while despair and disappointment may sit quietly in a corner of the house, hope and grace take up more room. And again in the parlance of my children, it’s all good.”
– an extract from Worse Things Happen at Sea.

8pm Monday on ABC1.

NB: SBS also replays Look Both Ways at 10:20pm tomorrow night.