Interview by Lauren Clancy

When I first met Jack Voegt, I had some catching up to do. On realising that I lacked the knowledge and context to the inside jokes being referenced by the surrounding group, Jack would turn, explain, or find sources to fill me in. Though minimal, this awareness is surprisingly rare. As someone who has unwillingly had to miss out on innumerable social occasions, I’d gotten used to laughing along vacantly, often half-tuned out. It makes perfect sense why, then, his approach to filmmaking appears to be a paralleled reflection of his character: inclusive, striking and deeply observant.

Based in Sydney and created closely alongside his good friend and tint’s producer, production manager and first assistant director, Eric Zac Perry (Zac), Jack’s new miniseries is a satirical exploration into his experiences as a South African-Australian. His initial idea for tint formed at the end of 2019, and over almost four years has been a cathartic investigation into contemporary racial issues and identity, with an interest in depicting the uncomfortable, lesser-known experiences that he has repeatedly encountered day-to-day.

tint follows its protagonist Lance as he processes the unsettling and awkward encounter of a stranger touching his hair. The film won Audience choice at Sydney Underground Film Festival and has recently been chosen to screen at Byron Bay International Film Festival. 

This interview was with Jack (writer, actor, director and editor of tint) and Zac (producer, production manager and first assistant director). tint was produced under Praxis Pictures production house.

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What drew you to film initially? How did you end up here? 

Jack I’ve always wanted to act, perform, and pursue things along those lines. For me, there was always so much crossover between filmmaking and acting. I knew I definitely wanted to act, so in high school a lot of what I did revolved around drama and theatre. The issue was that no one around me could really see a clear path towards acting as a career, including myself. That’s when I realised I could learn how to make my own movies and act in them in that capacity. It felt like a very rational pathway.

I went to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRs) to study film production, and I think whilst studying film you really start to appreciate and love it. There was this gradual progression of learning to love it in different ways.

What was your initial inspiration for tint? When did that begin to form?

Jack I remember the first iteration of it formed as we went into lockdown, though I know that sounds monotonous since everything is always in reference to the lockdowns [laughs]. I was in my second year of uni and started it as a writing exercise. I was thinking a lot about this…kind of frustrating experience that I’d never talked about or seen anyone really address. The crux of it was a stranger touching my hair. The awkwardness of this interaction and how bizarre it is to invade someone’s personal space like that is really interesting to me. It has also happened my whole life. I sent the idea to Zac, who pretty much said to keep writing and building on it. That was back in 2019, so it’s since been evolving into something that’s a little more in line with what I believe as of current.

So would you say specific personal experiences solidified the vision for you? Do you see Lance as a direct reflection of yourself?

Jack I do think Lance is a pretty direct reflection of who I am and how I am. Maybe to a much more dramatised degree, things are a bit more theatrical on film. The fact that he, ultimately, is me is also a little strange to have people watch. I think that caused quite a bit of anxiety.

You not only wrote tint, but you also acted in and directed it. What is that process like? Is there one aspect you favoured in the end?

Jack I probably need to make more films to have a better idea of what I like most. At the moment I like them equally, I just enjoy the process. I do think I was always going to write, star in, edit and direct tint. I’m not an editor but it felt right. It was cathartic to tell it in my own, personal way and in a way that was completely hands-on. I was able to impart funny aspects and formulate jokes around a topic that many people would perceive as serious. I perceive it as serious too, but including humour was important to me. I knew it wouldn’t have been as funny, or the same kind of funny, if I wasn’t able to be involved with the editing.

After I wrote the first iteration, I kept writing. The story had started to take some shape, but Zac and I both knew it wasn’t really there yet. The experience of making the current version of tint taught me that the right idea will come at the right time. You can’t push for the right idea, you have to let it live a little in order for it to mean anything.

Jack Voegt and Tania Vukicevic in tint.

Did you find it difficult to balance this humour or even the surrealist elements with the seriousness of the themes you were addressing?

Jack I think humour was always going to go hand in hand with the film. It’s interesting, coming from the family that I come from…I think a lot of first and second-generation immigrants and people of colour would agree in saying that when stories like these are being retold, of being the only black person in the room or something that pertains to your race happening to you, humour is always utilised. They are always retold in a really funny or humorous way. I believe that was the only way I could tell it. If it didn’t have any levity, it wouldn’t be what it needed to be. Also working with Zac…we just love to laugh. We like humorous things.

Was there any concern these elements add lightness and subtlety to the underlying message that could potentially result in audiences missing the point?

Jack Yeah definitely. We’ve spoken about people missing the point before. I think it’s bound to happen with anything really. But it’s also kind of funny and sometimes just proves the point, which can be wildly entertaining in and of itself. I’m not trying to ‘convert’ anybody, so if they miss it, they miss it. At this point it’s for the audience, it’s not entirely ours anymore. They won’t see it how I see it, or how Zac or the people close to the project see it. It’s hard to see it through that lens. But they can also still find the universal features of it. So, I definitely think there’s room for people to miss the point, but I also think people will understand, at least to some extent.

What would you want audiences to take away from the film? 

Jack This project was always about posing questions instead of answering them. As a black person, I find that everything seems to be so binary, like “this is the right thing to do for this race”, and “this is how you treat this specific race”. It’s not true, it’s such a falsified way of looking at it regardless of whether there are good intentions behind it.

When we started working on tint we were going into lockdown, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I still don’t know what I’m doing. The hope is that people can relate to a guy that doesn’t have the answers. That’s essentially the universal thing that it’s about: the not knowing.

You’ve mentioned blaxploitation films as inspiring aspects of your own film, particularly the more surreal/fantasy scenes …do you find the genre helpful in satirising stereotypes or if you think they can further perpetuate them?

Jack I think anything can be weaponised. [Laughs]. That’s a good headline. It feels ironic to say I don’t know, I don’t know the answers, and I do think I flip-flop sometimes. I love blaxploitation, I love the genre, and I love what good blaxploitation represents. It is this “stick it to the man”, “taking whitey down” kind of thing [laughs]. Quote that. But it can be filled with deeply homophobic roots, deeply misogynistic roots. It can be representative of something really kind of grimy and gross and old and weird. [Regarding tint and future films] I’d like to recontextualise what blaxploitation content looks like and what it means. Exploitation films are super interesting to me, and going forward we want to impart elements of exploitation films and include references to pop culture moments. I believe it can really elevate this kind of content.

Zac It’s also criticising from the inside out. With satire and exploitation content, the hard line is that you have to kind of ‘do the thing’ to ‘criticise the thing’, which can be difficult and morally ambiguous. I think there are a lot of [exploitation] movies that can be really far removed. But what I think Jack and his film do well is the element of ambiguity that leads back to this constant questioning. Because we do the blaxploitation fantasy sequence and have elements of it imbued throughout. But then hopefully audiences can see us simultaneously interrogating it.

Ari Kwasner-Catsi in tint.

What were some of your favourite moments from filming?

Jack It ended up being two days of filming. The script was always there as a skeleton to then build upon and allow as much improvisation as possible. We had so much content with Ari, some I wish we could’ve kept in (Ari Kwsner-Catsi stars in tint as potentially the most controversial character). At one point he made some terrible attempts to mimic a few different accents. I think it’s leaning on controversial, but naivety was the important aspect to convey.

On the morning of filming, the three of us went to Blacktown to get Ari’s braids done. The lady was so lovely. We were there asking for our white, Greek friend to get cornrows done, and she just thought it was great. She must do it all the time, but Ari was stressed. He was like, “I cannot go out in Blacktown with these cornrows. I look like Riff Raff.” We thought it was hilarious. He really threw himself into it and killed it.

Zac The litmus test on the day was if we could make our good friend Kate laugh (Also tint’s production and costume designer). If she laughed, we were like, that’s awesome, keep doing that. The humour is uncomfortable and quite awkward, so watching someone physically cringe and say that they hate it but that it’s funny…our instant reaction was great! Keep that! 

On top of that, we accidentally set ourselves up for it to be really fun. We had Lazy Bones in Marrickville booked for a full day, and time for ideas to come together on set. Everyone could watch the monitor, understand what was happening and contribute. It sounds like a funny project to impart your own ideas on, but then that hopefully speaks to how universal some elements of the film are.

Jack Zarni (tint’s stills photographer and soundtrack contributor) was another good litmus test for that aspect. He drew comparisons between the film and his experience living with a disability.

Zac And it’s set against the backdrop of a really terrible date, which is another relatable experience. Even though the film is through a specific lens, hopefully everyone can see something in that and find something to relate to.

What can we expect from the rest of the miniseries?

Jack I’d written five other episodes even before filming this one. The series highlights a lot of the same sort of themes but dips into different surreal moments. Going forward I want to focus on Lance’s imagination running wild in these frustrating, dire situations by utilising more surreal elements.

Zac As we realised the extent to which Jack and so many other people could speak to, elaborate on, or resonate with the themes and experiences of the short, we wanted to use this first episode as almost an overview, or introduction, to what we plan to keep exploring. We now just want to find that audience, the people that we can work with who resonate with it and make the rest of the episodes off the back of that.

Jack Yeah, I’m excited to work with more people. Getting more people involved, especially more people of colour. I want this to be as shared an experience as possible.

tint had its world premiere as a part of Homebaked Aussie Shorts at Sydney Underground Film Festival, winning Audience Choice and has just been selected at Byron Bay International Film Festival in October. Check out @praxis.pictures on instagram to find out more.

Lauren Clancy is a freelance writer based in Sydney