Meet Filmmaker and Innovator in Residence Sarah Goodman
From October 20 to November 30, the Digital Innovation Hub at Toronto Reference Library welcomes award-winning filmmaker Sarah Goodman as our second Innovator in Residence.
Sarah will host discussions, workshops and one-on-one appointments for aspiring and practicing filmmakers. Discussions include a kick-off panel presented with Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival – which will also screen Sarah’s award-winning documentary Army of One on Sunday, November 2 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (details coming soon on Hot Docs' website).
I recently chatted with Sarah to find out her thoughts on filmmaking, which filmmakers inspire her, and what her upcoming projects are.
What interested you about the library’s Innovator in Residence position and what you are looking most forward to during your residency?
I love that the ideals of the library to provide a safe learning space, to encourage learning across all barriers, and that it attracts all different sorts of people across our city. I’m eager to bring what I know as a filmmaker to this diverse group, and especially for older learners who may not have had the environment to learn these skills before.
What is your favourite movie and why?
That is an impossible question, because there are so many films that are important to me, but I can choose a recent stand out. Meek’s Cutoff by Kelly Reichardt is a beautiful, tough movie that focuses on the struggle of early settlers, trying to find their way west, but is also a subtle metaphor for Bush’s incursion into Iraq. It centres on a strong woman character who is living within a man’s world.
What are the essential ingredients to a good film?
A good story and the tools to tell it. The strength and talent of those you collaborate with is paramount.
What do you enjoy the most about being a filmmaker?
I love observing real life and finding the drama and significance within it – it is everywhere. I love discovering the layers of human behavior. It is meaningful to be allowed into worlds I might never see, to cross boundaries that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do if I wasn’t making a doc. I am now working in drama as well, so I think of myself of both a doc and drama filmmaker.
Army of One Clip from Sarah Goodman film on Vimeo.
Can anyone learn how to be a filmmaker?
Yes. Start today! Find people who are more experienced and learn from them. Trust your vision. While film school is valuable, it is not necessary.
Out of today’s filmmakers, who are the ones that are doing works that really excite and inspire you?
Kelly Reichardt, as I mentioned. Richard Linklater. There’s a movement of local filmmakers making very strong films on micro budgets: Ingrid Veninger, Calvin and Yonah, Igor Drljaca, Albert Shin. This movement inspires me and there are some great stories coming out of it. A new documentary by Jesse Moss called The Overnighter’s is terrific. Other filmmakers: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Carlos Reygadas, Lynn Shelton, Mike Leigh. The list could go on!
Can you tell us about your upcoming film projects?
My forthcoming feature drama Porch Stories is my first feature drama. It will be released theatrically in Toronto in Spring, 2015, so look out for it!
I have a new drama in development called LAKE 239, an environmental thriller that was pitched at TIFF’s Pitch This and was recently shortlisted for the Sundance/Sloan Commissioning Grant.
My last feature documentary, When We Were Boys, will be released on iTunes in December. You can also sign up for my mailing list at sarahgoodmanfilms.com to stay abreast of when films will be releasing.
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