filmmaker
Vonne Patiag is a multiple AACTA, AWGIE, Logie and SPA Award-nominated Writer, Director, Producer and Actor based in Western Sydney. He is the Director of In-Between Pictures, a production company splashing colour on Australian screens.
In 2024, he was selected as part of the MIFF Accelerator Lab in support of his debut feature Adjustments, which was also announced as the recipient of the Short to Feature Fast Track Fund through Screen NSW. His other feature Tomgirl received development funding from Screen Australia, was invited to the TIFF Filmmaker Lab and the Inside Out Film Finance Forum, and was shortlisted for the Sundance Writer's Lab. His latest short film Too Many Ethnics had its World Premiere at Flickerfest 2023, and he made his Mainstage Debut as Playwright and Actor with his play The Life Cycle of Blanco, presented by National Theatre of Parramatta and Sydney WorldPride in March 2023, which also had a sold out season in Nov 2020 through Brand X.
His recent credits include writing Significant Others, a 6-part drama series created by Tommy Murphy for ABC/Fremantle and writing and associate producing The Unusual Suspects, a mini-series for SBS with Aquarius Films and anthology feature film Here Out West for ABC with Co-Curious and Emerald Productions. The feature would be selected as the Opening Night Film of the Sydney Film Festival 2021, and opened in cinemas in Feb 2022.
In 2022, he was selected for Talent USA, a Screen Australia funded program supporting Australian creatives breaking into the US market. He was also one of the judges for the Tiktok Got A Minute competition, which was announced at Screen Forever. He also served on the Jury for the ASEAN program at Flickerfest 2020 and has curated short film programs for Blacktown Arts, Maritime Museum and the Australian International Screen Forum.
He has been profiled as a Ones To Watch by SPA, Australia's most prestigious program for emerging producers, where he was mentored by Michael McMahon. He also was in the inaugural class of Ones to Watch for the ADG. He made his speaking debut on the Sydney Opera House stage, joining a panel discussing modern masculinity as part of All About Women in March 2019 and returned to the Sydney Opera House a second time in Sep 2019 to premiere his short documentary connectIRL as part of Antidote Festival. His online series Halal Gurls (ABC, Create NSW) which he created, show-ran, and directed, premiered on ABC iView in Oct 2019 with exponential engagement online. He also completed a Director's Attachment on Operation Buffalo (ABC), shadowing writer/director Peter Duncan during Production and was also awarded the Spirit Of The West award by Made In The West Film Festival, honouring his continued work in promoting and championing Western Sydney filmmaking.
His screen acting credits include the television series After the Verdict (2022) for Subtext Pictures, The Unusual Suspects (2021) for Aquarius Films, Seven Types of Ambiguity (2017) for Matchbox Pictures, and several short films including Window and Too Many Ethnics.
Fun facts - he was part of the team to install Australia's first digital Christie projector in 2009, and also worked for Sydney's first digital creative agency. Ever.
Education
Grad Cert. in Creative Business - University of Canberra 2021
Acting Studio - Victorian College of Arts 2016
MA in Film Studies (Art History) – University of Sydney 2011
BA in Comm. (Media Arts and Prod.) – University of Technology Sydney 2009
Honours
Nominated for an AACTA (x3), AWGIE (x2), LOGIE (x1) and SPA Award (x2).
Spirit of the West Award - MITW Film Festival 2019
Industry Talks
ADG Creative Partnerships: Enterprise People (2023) - Moderator with Thomas Wilson-White and Beck Cole, ADG, Screen Australia
AACTA Pitch: Focus Initiative (2023) - Judge, AACTA
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart - ADG Deep Dive (2023) - Moderator, ADG
Queeries x Vivid Festival (2023) - Perfomer/Writer, Vivid Ideas
Longhouse - Screen (2022) - Panelist with Melissa Lee Speyer, Andrew Lee and Nicole Reddy, CAAP
Tiktok: Got a Minute Competition (2022) - Judge with Lee Naimo and Felicity McVay, Screen Forever
Online Talks and Ideas: BINGE (2021) - Panelist with Patrick Lenton, Loretta Farrell and David Rose, PPVA
GENER8: Stories From The Front (2021) - Panelist with Hayley Adam and Yingna Lu, SPA
True West (2021) - Panelist with Wesley Enoch and Jeneffa Soldatic, NTOP and Sydney Festival
Flickerfest: ASEAN Program (2020) - Judge, Flickerfest
Emerging, Gifted and Queer (2020) - Panelist with Thomas Wilson-White and Kelli Jean Drinkwater, AFTRS
Man Up: All About Women (2019) - Panelist with Osher Gunsberg and Clementine Ford, SOH
Developments
MIFF Accelerator Lab (2024) - Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)
Short to Feature Fast Track (2023) - Screen NSW
Talent USA (2022) - Screen Australia
Artist in Residence (2022) - Southern Tableland Arts (STA)
TIFF Filmmaker Lab (2021) - Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
Package 2 Pitch (2021) - Cinespace
Fresh Start Fund (2020) - ABC
Ones To Watch (2019) - Screen Producers of Australia (SPA)
Ones to Watch (2018) - Australian Director's Guild (ADG)
Behind Closed Doors (2018) - for Here Out West, Co-Curious
Director's Workshop (2018) - CAAP, Sydney Theatre Company
Stephen Cummins Queer Performance Development (2018) - Performance Space
QLAB (2018) - Artist in Residence, Q Theatre
Generate: Emerging Filmmaker's Fund (2017) - Screen NSW
Hot Shots Plus (2017) - Screen Australia