For the final Library Book Club event of the semester, producer Sarah Quan and director Sarah Simone screened their award-winning short film Margoland and held a panel discussion, focusing on gender and LGBTQ2S+ in film. Simone and Quan illustrated the creative process behind the film and the importance of diversity in the film and television industry.
This short film features Margo -- an elderly woman who's trying to escape her old folks home in order to get her late wife's ashes to The Big Nickel in Sudbury, in time to celebrate their anniversary. This heartwarming deadpan comedic hit won Peoples Choice Award at RUFF (Ryerson University Film Festival) in 2017, Best Writing at WIFT (Women in Film and Television) in 2020, and was screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Carleton Cinema in Toronto.
Sarah Quan is a film producer and creative executive based in Toronto. She is currently the Executive in charge of Development - Comedy at CBC/Radio Canada. Prior to her start with CBC Sarah was a Creative Executive at Northwood Entertainment, where she oversaw the creative and logistical development of over 15 television and feature film projects in development and production. She oversaw the theatrical distribution of THE GRIZZLIES in 2019 and also has produced several award-winning short films.
Photo by Emmett Charuk
Sarah Simone is a Toronto based photographer with a BFA in Film Studies, from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the Co-Writer and Director of the award winning short film Margoland [...]
Sarah's preferred medium of analogue photography developed from childhood, thanks to VIP access of her father's grand collection of film cameras. Not to mention the abundance of free, expired film that has been sitting in their freezer for ages.
Photography is Sarah's passion. Through her work she aims to capture everyday life, and the beauty of the mundane world.
Photo by Emmett Charuk