By Travis Johnson
Vonne Patiag has launched a community campaign for his latest short film, Tomgirl.
As the official synopsis tells us, “Tomgirl follows a young Filipino-Australian boy named Justin, who receives an enchanting crash course in his homeland culture when his uncle reveals himself to be a cross-dresser in the ‘Bakla’ tradition.” Callan Young, Ala Paredes, and Marcus Rivera star.
The film celebrates Blacktown’s Filipino community, and Patiag aims to explore the intersection between queer and ethnic identities in the text.
“There’s a wonderful creative atmosphere here in Western Sydney, a real indie spirit despite the odds of geographical prejudice, and we’re thrilled to be one of many teams forging a new path to create high quality local content.” Patiag said. “I used to work in advertising in the city, which was well paid but I had to whitewash my identity to fit in. Now I’ve moved back home and am proud to be one of the local filmmakers representing the Western Suburbs authentically from personal experience, and celebrating the diversity of stories in our communities.”
Patiag’s last short, Window, won Best Film at the St Kilda Film Festival’s Olympus Filmmaker Challenge, and prior works include Yang and The Dead Man’s Face Was My Own.
Tomgirl is part of Create NSW and SBS’s emerging filmmaker initiative to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Mardi Gras. To contribute, or just to check out the campaign, shoot over to the Australian Cultural Fund website.
