Homo, the latest short film from award-winning Filipino-Australian filmmaker Vonne Patiag will have its world premiere at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival this week.
Homo follows two best friends, Mark and Rem, on a road trip.
When Mark, a straight actor, books a queer role, he calls up his old best friend Rem to copy his queer mannerisms as a character study. But after Rem mistakes Mark’s interest for something more, their friendship evolves into something else unexpected.
The comedy-drama short stars Max Brown (NCIS Sydney, The Tourist) as Mark, alongside Patiag who plays Rem.
“Friendships can be more intimate than romantic relationships. With this story, I really wanted to explore the fine line between platonic and romantic dynamics between best friends, especially when one identifies as queer, and the other straight. It’s so easy to mix signals when you think you know each other so well,” says Patiag.
“The film is based on many of my own experiences including a brutal friendship breakup and one hilarious time when an actor I knew strangely stole some of my mannerisms to play a queer role. That’s where this film sits – at that intersection of humour and honesty.”
Shot on location in Bilpin NSW, the road trip film showcases several Australian rural landscapes, including the Blue Mountains, rural highways, country rest-stops and apple orchards. BigCi, an artist residency in Bilpin, provided location support and accomodation to the cast and crew during the remote five-day shoot.
“I loved shooting on location in the bush. As the cast and crew all lived together, we adopted a studio mentality, where we would let the environment inform a lot of our coverage. Sometimes we were shooting before first light, sometimes late into the darkness,” says Patiag.
“As a director, I wanted to push myself creatively in my craft, so I also created the crew role of the Performance Dramaturg, which helped me focus on the performances and helped me navigate directing and acting at the same time.”
The short film was financed by the Short to Feature Fast Track Fund through Screen NSW, which also funded development for a feature film script, based on the short.
“I’m always looking to innovate the production process of filmmaking, and this was my chance to sharpen my directing skills as I move towards directing my first feature film. I’m thankful for the opportunity to cut my teeth creatively and can’t wait to share the film with our first audiences at Revelation!”
Homo is produced by Maren Smith and Rosie Braye through In-Between Pictures. The short film was executive produced by Kylie du Fresne (Five Blind Dates, The Invisible Man) and script edited by Keith Thompson (The Sapphires, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris).
Homo screens at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival this week alongside Mexican road trip feature film On The Road. Details here.
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