Outfest Fusion 2020 – Tomgirl
A young Filipino boy in Western Sydney gets an enchanting crash-course in his homeland culture when his uncle reveals himself to be a cross-dresser in the 'Bakla' tradition.
Interview with Writer/Director Vonne Patiag
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Tomgirl is a celebration of Filipino and bakla culture, set in Blacktown (Western Sydney), arguably one of Australia's most diverse areas, that I grew up in. I was interested in creating a film that celebrated Filipino culture from within, showing the nuances of the diasporic experience of being a migrant in Australia. Creating more QPOC works is vital for me as I often didn't see stories reflecting my own experience onscreen.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Tomgirl is such a magical film - told through the eyes of Justin, a young boy who sees his Uncle as an absolute superhero, the film has a flourish of fantasy to really show this celebration of culture. It's a fun little film, offering a slice of life on an intersectional community often missing from our screens.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Tomgirl is largely a personal film, based on my childhood memories of the Philippines as well as growing up in Australia and experience some harrowing instances of schoolyard racism as a child. I always find the more specific you are, the more universal your story can be, so I centred the story within a close-knit family unit as a way to celebrate Filipino culture across the board.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I was encouraged by Maren, the Producer of the film, to dive into personal territory and write a story that I felt was true. The film has quite a strange narrative arc, feeling like a flourish of passion, which for me was intrinsic to the Filipino methods of storytelling, so I was glad to be able to change up the production narratives around the film to find a methodology that was more inductive to the actual experience of being Filipino-Australian, capturing that tension between both worlds.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People generally love the film! It's so nice to see the film travel overseas quite well and play numerous festivals overseas, considering it is quite a localised film in Western Sydney.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It's definitely opened my eyes to how powerful personal filmmaking can be and has made me refine my own inclusive practice as I move on to bigger projects.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We're definitely looking to sprinkle some more Tomgirl magic across the globe!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We're looking to partner with any distributors or sales agents to help sell the film online in global territories.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We'd love for the film to CELEBRATE community and culture, especially QPOC, intersectional and diasporic ones.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Which superheroes live closer to you than expected?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I recently released my first tv series I show-ran called Halal Gurls with ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), and am currently working on a half-hour comedy series exploring male intimacy and friendship.
Interview: March 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Tomgirl
A young Filipino boy in Western Sydney gets an enchanting crash-course in his homeland culture when his uncle reveals himself to be a cross-dresser in the 'Bakla' tradition.
Length: 10:00
Director: Vonne Patiag
Producer: Maren Smith
Writer: Vonne Patiag
About the writer, director and producer:
VONNE PATIAG is a filmmaker and writer based in Western Sydney. He is the Director of In-Between Pictures, a production company interested in producing personal stories that explore queer/ethnic intersection and that dissect issues of racism and geographical prejudice prevalent to Australia - localised stories with global appeal. His recent credits include Halal Gurls, an online series offering a candid look at three hijabis living their best lives, and Tomgirl, a short film celebrating Filipino bakla culture.
MAREN SMITH is an Australian film producer whose work includes multi-award-winning feature film One Less God directed by Lliam Worthington and award-winning short films Tomgirl and Window directed by Vonne Patiag. She is the current Head of Production at Paper Moose.
Key cast: Marcus Rivera (Norman), Ala Paredes (Esperanza), Callan Young (Justin)
Looking for: sales agents
Facebook: Tomgirl
Hashtags used: #TOMGIRLFILM
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Create NSW, SBS