Sarah Abbott

Sarah Abbott (born in 1969[1]) is a Canadian filmmaker and artist. Abbott graduated from Queen's University with a major in Film Studies and Drama, she received a Master of Fine Arts degree for Art Video at Syracuse University and is pursuing a doctorate at Royal Roads University for Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.[2][1] Abbott has been involved in film-making for over 20 years and has received several awards for her work such as the “Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award for Arts and Learning” in 2012.[3] Abbott is known for her work in gender and First Nations specific films and for bringing awareness to these issues through her short and experimental films. Abbott was a founding individual involved in the creation of Mispon, an indigenous film festival in held in Regina, Saskatchewan.[4] She is currently employed as an associate professor for the film department at the University of Regina.

Career

Sarah Abbott was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1969. Abbott completed her studies before moving in the 1990s to Toronto, Ontario where she began her career. At this point in time, Abbott was mostly creating short films.[1]

She works primarily on films involving human rights, gender and sexuality studies, and issues pertaining to Indigenous peoples. Themes of films produced by Abbott surrounding Indigenous issues include the culture of First Nations people and the problems that they face in their communities, as well as addressing other social and ethical issues. Many of Abbott's films are experimental - relying on imagery, sound, and voice overs - and are left open for interpretation which allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions and meaning from the work.[2]

Abbott created a short film based on Canadian writer Nancy Jo Cullen's short story of the same name: Why I Hate Bees.[1][5] In this experimental film, Abbott used the text from the short story to have as narration. Utilizing the filming techniques of optical printing and animation, the film emphasizes the experience of the viewer's senses through sound and colour motifs. The plot focuses on a girl's memories as she retells her childhood near-death experience. The film was well-received and won “Best Lesbian Film” from Inside Out in 1998, the grand prize at the Cabbagetown Film Festival in 1999, and an honourable mention at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2000.[5]

For her first documentary film, Tide Marks (2004), Abbott traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to record the residential women's stories and experiences of the apartheid. The film was created to be as objective as possible to ensure an organic and true portrayal of the community and people involved in the project. Although filming was set back by a key testimonial dropping out, Abbott chose to go forward with her work and create the film as it is today.[6]

Abbott is now working at the University of Regina. Abbott started a program at the university that involves hands-on learning for the film students, the students are placed on film sets with qualified film-workers. Abbott incorporated an element of Indigenous studies into this project; the last two student assisted films, Out In The Cold and This Time Last Winter, feature issues affecting First Nations communities within these films.[7]

Abbott's film Out In The Cold was filmed on location in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and is about the “Starlight Tours”. A “Starlight Tour” is when a police officer picks up an Indigenous citizen under the guise of an arrest or a ride home and instead drops the person off further out into the middle of nowhere, often during freezing temperatures. These “tours” are an alleged practice committed by some members of the Saskatoon police that are being investigated.[8] The film is a black-and-white fictional piece inspired by the death of Neil Stonechild. The main character, Thomas, is driven out of the city limits by police and left to walk home in below freezing weather. The young man meets the specters of two men, one malevolent and the other benevolent, who had previously died from being left in similar conditions. Out in the Cold was created to call attention to the potential crimes committed - the Starlight Tours - and create conversations about the mistreatment of First Nations by police and government officials. For this film Abbott received the Mayor's Arts and Business Award for Innovation in the Arts in 2009.[8][9]

Filmography

Year Name of Film FilmType Role in Production
1991 My Withered Tomato Friend Experimental Director
1997 Why I Hate Bees Experimental / Short Director / Writer / Producer
1997 Froglight Experimental Director / Writer / Producer
1997 The Light In Our Lizard Bellies Experimental Director / Writer / Producer / Cinematographer
2000 Rug Experimental Director
2001 My Heart the Lunchbox Compilation Cinematographer
2001 My Heart the Prophet Compilation Director / Writer
2001 Looking Back to See Experimental Director / Writer
2002 Here Experimental Director / Writer / Producer
2002 Patching Experimental Director
2002 Knee Level Fictional Director / Writer / Producer
2004 Tide Marks Documentary Director / Writer / Producer / Cinematographer
2007 Out in the Cold Fictional Producer
2010 This Time Last Winter Narrative Writer / Producer
2011 In the Minds of All Beings: Tsogyal Latso of Tibet Documentary / Short Director / Writer / Cinematographer

Awards and nominations

Year Name of the Award Name of Film
1992 Canadian International Amateur Film Festival: One Star Award (winner)[10] My Withered Tomato Friend
1998 Inside Out: Best Canadian Lesbian Short (winner)[5] Why I Hate Bees
1999 Cabbagetown Film Festival (grand prize)[5] Why I Hate Bees
2000 Ann Arbor Film Festival (honourable mention)[5] Why I Hate Bees
2000 Ann Arbor Film Festival (honourable mention)[11] Froglight
2000 Ann Arbor Film Festival (honourable mention)[12] The Light in Our Lizard Bellies
2009 The City of Regina's Mayor's Arts and Business Award for Innovation in the Arts (winner)[9] Out in the Cold
2010 Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival: Best Actress (Recipient: Danna Henderson)[13] This Time Last Winter
2012 Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Arts Award (winner)[14] -
2014 Vanier Canadian Graduate Scholarship (winner)[15] -

References

  1. Waugh, Thomas (18 July 2006). Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 357. ISBN 9780773585287.
  2. Roger, Beebe (1 April 2002). "Sarah Abbott's THE LIGHT IN OUR LIZARD BELLIES and the Meaning of Meaning". Journal of Film and Video. 54 (1). ISSN 0742-4671.
  3. "Sarah Abbott". Media Queer. May 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. Benjoe, Kerry (4 October 2014). "Researcher studying suicide among aboriginals". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2023 via PressReader.
  5. Why I Hate Bees, 10 May 2015, retrieved 13 October 2018
  6. Miliokas, Nick (10 February 2005). "Filmmaker Let them Tell their Stories". Leader Post.
  7. "This Time Last Winter – Shortworks Productions". www.shortworksproductions.ca. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. Alain, Marc; Corrado, Raymond R.; Reid, Susan (6 April 2016). Implementing and Working with the Youth Criminal Justice Act across Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 348. ISBN 9781442630123.
  9. Out In the Cold, 10 May 2015, retrieved 13 October 2018
  10. My Withered Tomato Friend, 10 May 2015, retrieved 5 November 2018
  11. Froglight, 10 May 2015, retrieved 5 November 2018
  12. The Light In Our Lizard Bellies, 10 May 2015, retrieved 5 November 2018
  13. This Time Last Winter, 10 May 2015, retrieved 5 November 2018
  14. "Weekly Roundup: News of awards, sales and company rebrandings". Playback. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  15. Harrington, Stephanie (18 August 2014). "Independent filmmaker awarded Vanier scholarship". Royal Roads. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
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