ABC News reports
Australian director and animator Sarah Watt has died of cancer aged 53.
Watt is survived by her husband, actor William McInnes, and their two children Clem and Stella.
The family published a tribute in The Age newspaper, saying she "died peacefully at home filled with the love she gave to those who adored her - her family".
"A life of courage humour, intelligence, generosity, honesty and grace."
She is best known for her feature films Look Both Ways, and My Year Without Sex, which combined her distinctive animation style with live action film.
Watt was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and secondary bone cancer in 2009.
Her death prompted an outpouring of grief on the social media service Twitter.
Film reviewer Marc Fennel was among those paying tribute.
"Incredibly sad day for Australian cinema. RIP Sarah Watt. Wonderful filmmaker behind Look Both Ways & My Year Without Sex," he tweeted.
Film Victoria and the Australian Film Institute also expressed their sadness.
"Terribly sad to hear of the passing of AFI award winner and talented filmmaker Sarah Watt," Film Victoria tweeted.
And Palace Films extended their condolences to Watt's family and friends, calling her "a truly extraordinary artist".
Actor Andrew Gilbert is a family friend and says Watt was able to transform the mundane into something special.
"I think she just had an ability to see in the mundane or in the normal, what was going on beneath the surface and to capture it," he said.
"I mean, a lot of people see things and are aware of things, see stories and hear stories, but she just had that great ability to capture them, not only visually but also in terms of making stories and narratives out of them and combining them into something unique."
Gilbert says he last saw Watt at the opening of her photo exhibition in West Footscray.
"She was looking a bit frail then, but she still had the steely eye and she was creative to the very last," he said.
"I think her book will become part of the national culture actually, Worse Things Happen At Sea.
"I think there are chapters in that book that are absolutely outstanding in terms of the way they deal with where the illness fits in when people are living a life at the same time."
ABC film reviewer Margaret Pomeranz recently rated Look Both Ways as one her favourite films of the past 25 years.
"I'd followed her career in animation, and she has the most gorgeous approach to her animation," she said.
"There's a truth and a beauty to it and a gentleness that she brought to this film."
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