Tender reveals the nuances and tender sides of the communities of Western Sydney through four individual but interconnected documentary films by multidisciplinary artists.

Diamond Tat’s poetic film, Marrow is a cinematic ode to womanhood, both in its silent volatility and profound gentleness. Inspired by the artist's own immigration experience, alongside her mother, the film delves deep into the emotional terrain of uprooting and letting go, tearing down and rebuilding, navigating the delicate balance between past and present, self and other.

Through a series of poetic movements, the film traces a mother and her footsteps as she navigates the liminal spaces between belonging and estrangement, longing for the familiarity of home while embracing the promise of the unknown.

Weaving together its haunting score and poetic imagery, Marrow invites the viewer to bear witness to the silent struggles and triumphs of motherhood and womanhood, to celebrate the quiet strength and profound gentleness that defines the essence of femininity.

At its core, Marrow is a meditation on the resilience of the human spirit, a testament to the enduring power of sacrifice, strength, integrity and gentleness in shaping individual, generational and collective identities.

Creative credits

Director
Diamond Tat

Writer
Diamond Tat

Producer
CuriousWorks

Choreographer & Movement Artist
Vivian Tran

DOP
Diamond Tat

Assistant Director + art assitant
Matilda Dickinson

DIT
Sebastian Reategui

B-Cam Operator/Camera Assistant
Diego Murillo, CuriousWorks

Gaffer
Lucky Chen

Lighting Assistant
Diego Murillo, CuriousWorks

Set Builder
Antony Youssef

Pyro Technician
Amanda Le

BTS Photographer
Ammar Gulambar Jamal

Editor
Reggie Azwar

Colourist
Diamond Tat
Sebastian Reategui
Reggie Azwar

Composer and Sound designer
Kat Azwar

Designer/Typographer
Huy Nguyen

Creative and Technical Director
Elias Nohra

Production manager
Samantha Barahona, CuriousWorks

Production Consultant
Miranda Aguilar, CuriousWorks

Communications Officer
Jenny Trinh, CuriousWorks

Special thanks
Tender Artists: Mohammad Awad, Carielyn Tunion & Sharon Mani

Supporter
Tyron Seeto
Emily Borghi
Mothership Studios
Maxedoutfilms
The Azwar family

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.

Diamond Tat (she/her) is a visual artist practicing storytelling through filmmaking and cinematography. Trained in Media Arts production in Sydney, she works across multiple genres e.g, narrative, documentary, music and art installation She is deeply interested in human-focused stories that explore the vast and rich human experience. Inspired by her upbringing in a mix-cultured environment, influenced by Chinese, Vietnamese and French cultures, she holds a deep interest in ideas of identities emerging, merging and shifting through time and space.

In her previous works and collaborations with a peer filmmaker - Baro Lee: Bimok (2022) and Hiruaerak (2019), Diamond explores aspects of navigating challenging and ever-shifting identities through grief and love. With her collaboration with Huy Nguyen in Minh Exhibition (2023) for Fairfield Museum, she once again has the chance to explore her family’s immigration experience like forging identities and quiet perseverance.

In informing and training her technical skills, Diamond works within the camera and video department across a few sectors in the industry: studio feature-length narrative e.g, Thor: Love and Thunder (dir. Taika Waititi) and TV-series drama e.g, ABC’s Soundtrack to Our Teenage Zombie Apocalypse.

Diamond has also been working as MediaLab Video Specialist Professional staff at the University of Technology Sydney, facilitating filmmaking workshops especially in the field of cinematography and supporting Media Arts students and staff with their research and projects.