The passing of Sarah Watt is a sad loss to the Australian film & television industry. Sarah was a storyteller, a rare breed who can conjure images and deliver them wrote in a way that the performers meld into the characters and we are lost in her world. That Australian Story are able to round out their 2011 season with this special tribute to both the filmmaker and her actor husband in such a touching and poignant way is testimony to the surprise this show continues to be – uncovering all sorts of gems in hidden, special places. From the press release:

Margaret Pomeranz guest presents the 2011 series final of Australian Story on the personal and significant creative bond that filmmaker Sarah Watt shared with her husband, William McInnes.

“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,” reflects Margaret Pomeranz of At The Movies.

The final word of When William Met Sarah comes from Sarah Watt with an extract from her book Worse Things Happen at Sea, co-written with William and released two months ago. Good friend Justine Clarke, the lead actress in the film Look Both Ways gives voice to them…

“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.”

Australian Story (2011 final) – Mon 8pm, ABC1.