Tender reveals the nuances and tender sides of the communities of Western Sydney through four individual but interconnected documentary films by multidisciplinary artists. Carielyn Tunion’s video poem, "i am a deepsea fisherwoman, but i do not catch fish", explores the connections of a personal diasporic family story rooted in the archipelago known as 'the Philippines' and Hong Kong. Across three parts or ‘cantos’, it touches on ideas of metaphysical distance, home yearning, ritual, and radical nostalgia.

Creative credits

Director
Carielyn Tunion

Producer
CuriousWorks
Carielyn Tunion

Cast
Carielyn Tunion

DOP
Justine Da Jose

Production design
Genesis Mansilongan

Production Assistant
Elias Nohra

Editor
Carielyn Tunion
Elias Nohra

Composer and Sound designer
Wytchings (Jenny Trinh)

Typography/titling
Huy Nguyen

Creative and Technical Director
Elias Nohra

Production manager
Samantha Barahona, CuriousWorks

Production Consultant
Miranda Aguilar, CuriousWorks

Communications Officer
Jenny Trinh, CuriousWorks

This work was produced by Curiousworks, under the creative and technical direction of Elias Nohra. It was commissioned by Sydney Opera House and supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

Carielyn Tunion (she/they) is a writer, videopoet, educator and cultural worker. She has worked in the arts & cultural sector, the community services sector, and has experience using creative strategies in grassroots community organising.

Carielyn is interested in ideas of radical softness, rage, and nostalgia from an anti-colonial, diasporic perspective. Her work has been published in kindling & sage, Mascara Literary Review, Emerging Writers Festival, SBS Filipino and KAP Magazine. She is a participating artist for Curious360 by CuriousWorks, and is currently doing a Master of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing at Western Sydney University. Carielyn’s ancestral roots are in the archipelago of the so-called Philippines, and Kowloon, Hong Kong. She currently lives, studies, works and treads respectfully on unceded Burramattagal on Dharug country.