TAG, a graffiti artist with the film short that echoes her artistic voice

Christina Masterson plays Harlow in Patrick Green & Steve Tirona’s short film, titled TAG

TAG is a short film by Patrick Green. He collaborated with his friend Steve Tirona, and  each earned co-directing credits on the film. As an Asian American artist, and one who also wrote the script for TAG, Patrick had struggled with the need to be heard as an artist. TAG is a result of his need to be heard, just like any artist today. TAG has completed a ‘festival-run’ of 19 film festivals in 2017. It screened in and outside the US, including countries such as Australia and Canada.

TAG is available on VOD at Chopso, click to watch and enjoy

In a sketchy area of Boyle Heights, (a neighborhood in LA) a young graffiti artist navigates the streets of Los Angeles to make her mark with her latest, spray paint creation. However, it’s all done at the risk of getting jumped, as she then must escape a bunch of guys who are after her.

The cast of TAG are Christina Masterson (Harlow), Christopher J. Mandoza McGrath (Sancho Michael Davis – Lem), Akchtonin Ramos (Temper), and Vanessa Zamarripa as Harlow’s stunt double.

“Every artist has that moment when they find their voice. It’s at that instant that you realize that “today” is the first day of the rest of your life. Nothing and no one will stop you from expressing yourself. Graffiti taggers, street artists, urban contemporary artists, whatever you want to call them, want to be heard and if no one is going to listen to them, they’re going to make you see”. says Patrick Green

“Tag is a passion project that I’ve had in my mind for a couple years after coming across a tagger signing their name to a wall in my neighborhood. The anonymous figure was small (petite even), wearing a red hoodie and new sneakers. That image stuck in my head as I passed the tag in the morning, and I began to think about a person who would risk their lives to sign their tag name (not a gang sign) in a public space.” says Patrick

Patrick says, “I wanted to tell that story using a character that defies the stereotypical tagger that’s portrayed in the media. Although street art is now a big part of pop culture, it began as an underground act that gave a voice to the voiceless. As an Asian American artist myself who has struggled to be heard, I wanted the audience to see what we had to say, our point of view through a graffiti artist’s eyes, which is why we literally shot it in POV.

Film Festivals
Official Selection at CAAM Fest (world premiere) ’17
Official Selection at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Art Fair Málaga Spain ’17
Official Selection at Ground Effect “Behind the Walls” Paris ’17
Official Selection at Filmchella ’17
Official Selection at Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at RAW Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Seattle Asian American Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at The Block Art and Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Chinese American Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Bad Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at CineMiami Festival ’17
Official Selection at Ithaca Asian American Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Cine Miami Fest ’17
Official Selection at Cine Pobre Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Freshflix Film Festival ’17
Official Selection at Miami Independent ’17
Official Selection at Canada Shorts ’17

Directors
Patrick Green (Writer/Director) – Patrick has written for TV, film and video game projects for Tony Scott (True Romance, Top Gun), Tom Pellegrini (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) and Vincent Ngo (Hancock). He has directed branded content shorts featuring Chef Ludo Lefebvre and photographer Estevan Oriol for the ID Agency. He has an MFA in Screenwriting from Cal State Northridge and is also a writer/editor for Los Angeles Magazine, Crave and Mel Magazine.

Steve Tirona (Director) – Steve is a photographer whose photos have appeared in Time, Vogue and LACMA. The Art Center grad has done ad work for Columbia Pictures, Sony and Epic Records, while also directing music videos and commercials in his native Philippines.