about us

In-Between Pictures is splashing colour on Australian screens.

The creative partnership of Vonne Patiag and Maren Smith, we tell fresh and unexpected scripted stories for the big and small screen. We love authentic stories that cut across race, class and cultural lines that are nuanced, stylised and visually arresting. Our aim is to entertain while sparking conversations that speak to a contemporary Australian and International audience.

Our work includes Halal Gurls, a world first Hijabi comedy series for ABC Australia, which won the Prix du Public (Audience Award) award at Marseille Webfest and was nominated for an AACTA, AWGIE and SPA award. The series broke new ground in collaborative practice by working with a writer’s room of Muslim female writers, and was one of the highest viewed Originals on the ABC Youtube Comedy Channel, premiering on ABC iView.

Our short film Tomgirl, about a Filipino-Australian boy who discovers his uncle is a Bakla drag performer, was broadcast on SBS Viceland for the 40th Anniversary of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. It screened at festivals domestically and internationally, has been included on various syllabuses for its Bakla representation, and is streamable on SBS OnDemand.

Another short film, Too Many Ethnics, is a sassy take-down of the racism in the Sydney clubbing scene. It premiered at Flickerfest 2023, inspired a feature article on Vonne’s work in the Sydney Morning Herald, and acts as a proof-of-concept for our TV Series Boy (Space) Friends.

We’re currently in development on Comedy TV Series Boy (Space) Friends, and feature films Homo and Tomgirl.

Welcome.

our team

Vonne Patiag

Co-Founder, Director, Creative

Vonne is an AACTA, AWGIE, Logie and SPA Award-nominated Writer, Director, Producer and Actor based in Western Sydney. His credits include Significant Others (ABC), The Unusual Suspects (SBS), Here Out West (ABC), Too Many Ethnics, Tomgirl (SBS), and Halal Gurls (ABC).

He produced and co-wrote The Unusual Suspects with Aquarius Films, and feature film anthology Here Out West with Co-Curious and Emerald Productions. He show-ran and directed all episodes of Halal Gurls and has written and directed short films Tomgirl, Too Many Ethnics and Homo.

He was a participant in MIFF Accelerator Lab 2024, TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2021and was part of the Talent USA Delegate 2022 sponsored by Screen Australia. He was profiled as a Ones to Watch (SPA), mentored by Michael McMahon. He is a regular speaker on advocacy within the film industry, making his speaking debut on the Sydney Opera House Stage, joining a panel discussing modern masculinity as part of All About Women in 2019. He has also been published The Guardian and has participated and hosted panels for the ADG, SPA and CAAP. He also works as a curator and arts producer, and writes across stage and screen.

He was the Director's Attachment on Operation Buffalo, shadowing Peter Duncan (Rake) on the production. His one man play on racism, The Life Cycle of Blanco, had its mainstage debut with National Theatre of Parramatta in 2023. He was awarded the Spirit of the West award by Made In The West Film Festival for his contribution to the Western Sydney filmmaking industry.

Maren Smith

Co-Founder, Director, Strategy

Maren is a Producer of Film, Television and Radio from the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. Her work includes One Less God (dir. Lliam Worthington) which won the Grand Jury Prize and Industry Choice Awards at the Los Angeles' Dance With Films 2017, and was awarded Best Film at Byron Bay Film Festival 2017. The film would go on to be theatrically released in the UK, USA, India, Japan, Korea and Australia.

Her short films Hook Up (dir. Laura Nagy), Window (dir. Vonne Patiag), Qupid (dir. Jessica Flood), Tomgirl (dir. Vonne Patiag) and Too Many Ethnics (dir. Vonne Patiag) have screened across Australia and internationally at festivals. Her TV work includes animated comedy series Alphabet Street for Disney Junior Australia and New Zealand.