who is natalie palomo

Writer, producer, pianist and director, Natalie has reignited her passion for filmmaking and the creative arts. The Filipina-Australian holds a fascination with culture, womanhood, self-discovery and spirituality that reflects in her bodies of work.

Natalie’s journey through the arts is about finding clarity in chaos. She excels in exploring the realms of possibilities amongst ideas that feel as though they have no direction.

Her love for film was sparked during her time at the University of Sydney, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Music and English Literature. It was here where she discovered her admiration for sound accompaniment in visual media, which led her to direct, write and compose her first short-film, Dante’s Inferno (1997). After graduating she freelanced in graphic design but the tug of film was too strong, so she continued her film ventures, using Masters degrees to network and develop her craft, first at the University of Technology Sydney (2003) and then the Australian Film Television Radio School (2008). With an eye for the solemn, Natalie has crafted a variety of shorts during this time that capture people at their most vulnerable, pulling from lived experiences and sharing raw human emotions. This includes directing Wounded (Festival de Cannes, Recontres Henri Langlois, St Tropez, Palm Springs) and producing Invisible (World Fest thriller winner, Flickerfest) . She then developed feature film projects as a producer including The Killer Within, which was accepted into the Screen NSW Aurora Scriptwriting program, and The Last Publican, which was invited to the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, and received a Letter of Interest from Transmission Films.

Her passion for storytelling extends past filmmaking as she applies it to education. Previously a high school music teacher, Natalie has built a bridge between education and audio-visual design through her work as a Learning Experience Designer. She started Strike a Chord in 2017, provides learning solutions to governmental and corporate organisations. Her team grew to meet the demand, and this also led to a partnership in Registered Training Organisation: Real Estate Training and Services NSW (#45900).

Now, Natalie seeks to reclaim her personal narrative as a Filipina-Australian storyteller through her journey as a first-time feature writer/director. Her exploration has also led her into The Dad Project, which are companion short form documentary pieces as research for the film. She has also commenced development on a VR project on Philippine mythology.