Sarah Abbott
Sarah Abbott | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, Filmmaker, Associate professor |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Known for | Experimental film, Documentary film |
Sarah Abbott (born 1969) is a Canadian artist and filmmaker. She completed her undergraduate studies at Queen's University at Kingston, majoring in Film Studies and Drama. Subsequently, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Art Video from Syracuse University and is currently engaged in doctoral research in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at Royal Roads University. Abbott brings over two decades of experience in filmmaking and was honored with the “Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award for Arts and Learning” in 2012.
Her artistic practice centers on issues related to gender and First Nations communities, employing short and experimental film formats to promote awareness. Abbott played a pivotal role in founding Mispon, an indigenous film festival based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Presently, she holds the position of associate professor within the film department at the University of Regina.
Career
Born in Montreal, Quebec in 1969, Sarah Abbott launched her professional journey during the 1990s in Toronto, Ontario, focusing primarily on short film production.
Abbott’s films engage deeply with themes of human rights, gender and sexuality, and Indigenous experiences, emphasizing First Nations cultural narratives and community issues. Her work often adopts experimental techniques, combining visuals, soundscapes, and narration to encourage interpretive viewing.
She transformed Canadian author Nancy Jo Cullen's short story Why I Hate Bees into a short film that utilizes optical printing and animation to create a rich sensory atmosphere. This piece, depicting a girl's near-fatal childhood recollection, earned accolades including “Best Lesbian Film” at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival (1998), the grand prize at the Cabbagetown Film Festival (1999), and an honorable mention at the Ann Arbor Film Festival (2000).
Abbott’s debut documentary Tide Marks (2004), shot in Cape Town, South Africa, presents the stories of women living under apartheid through an objective lens. Despite challenges posed by the withdrawal of a key interviewee, she completed the project to authentically represent the community’s experiences.
At the University of Regina, Abbott developed a practical program that places film students on professional production sets. This initiative includes an emphasis on Indigenous studies, with recent student-supported projects such as Out In The Cold and This Time Last Winter addressing First Nations topics.
Out In The Cold, filmed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, explores the contentious “Starlight Tours,” incidents where police allegedly left Indigenous people exposed to freezing temperatures. This black-and-white fictional narrative draws inspiration from Neil Stonechild’s death and follows Thomas as he encounters spirits of past victims. The film seeks to increase public understanding of these alleged injustices and systemic mistreatment of Indigenous populations by authorities. For this work, Abbott was awarded the Mayor's Arts and Business Award for Innovation in the Arts in 2009.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Genre | Production Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- 2014 | Vanier Canadian Graduate Scholarship (recipient) | - |}References
| Year | Award Title | Film Title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | One Star Award, Canadian International Amateur Film Festival (recipient) | 'My Withered Tomato Friend' |
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1998 | Best Canadian Lesbian Short, Inside Out (recipient) | 'Why I Hate Bees' |
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1999 | Grand Prize, Cabbagetown Film Festival | 'Why I Hate Bees' |
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2000 | Honourable Mention, Ann Arbor Film Festival | 'Why I Hate Bees' |
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2000 | Honourable Mention, Ann Arbor Film Festival | 'Froglight' |
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2000 | Honourable Mention, Ann Arbor Film Festival | 'The Light in Our Lizard Bellies' |
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2009 | Mayor's Arts and Business Award for Innovation in the Arts, City of Regina (recipient) | 'Out in the Cold' |
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2010 | Best Actress, Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival (awardee: Danna Henderson) | 'This Time Last Winter' |
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2012 | Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Arts Award (recipient) |
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