Florence Kosky reveals her journey to making All The World’s A Stage

Florence Kosky’s All The World’s A Stage

indieactivity: Give a background of your personal experience with the story, writing, production and marketing
Florence Kosky: The story in All The World’s A Stage is a very personal one to me – it’s taken from a poem a friend of mine wrote following the death of our mutual friend, by suicide. And so, every aspect of production (pre, during, post and release!) were also very personal to me, and something I was heavily involved in moving forward.

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
Florence Kosky: I always had Olivia Colman in my mind as the narrator of the piece, but I was flexible with the rest of the cast!

Florence Kosky’s poetic film All The World’s A Stage at Raindance

indieactivity: How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Florence Kosky: This script took me a day or two I think, as I was working off the structure of the poem. When it’s script without source material however, it’s a lot longer for me!

indieactivity: When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
Florence Kosky: I formed Waddon Productions in 2016 as I needed a company for people to invoice to when I started filmmaking!

Florence Kosky’s All The World’s A Stage

indieactivity: What was the first project out of the gate?
Florence Kosky: The Otherworld, which is a short I produced and directed last year and is loosely based around some of the Celtic era mythology of the UK.

indieactivity: During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Florence Kosky: So in All The World’s A Stage we have a couple of scenes (predominantly the dance numbers) which are split into being shot both on location and in a studio – I’d say these were probably the most stressful to shoot as we had to make sure that they would flow properly and cut together without it being obvious it was in two different locations.

indieactivity: What works better in this latest production that mightn’t have worked so well in the last one you did?
Florence Kosky: I think the amount of prep I did for this short increased exponentially! I had my wonderful producer and editor and DOP making me go over everything in intimate detail before we shot, because we were working with so many set pieces and complicated lighting, so everything was more painstakingly planned out which actually made the shoot process much, much easier.

indieactivity: You produced and directed the film, what measure of input did it take to don these hats?
Florence Kosky: I didn’t produce this one! I worked with producer Matt Cook from Fablemaze, who is my literal life saver, and Emilia Rose Arno who is a force to be reckoned with. With regard to directing, I think to spearhead any project, you have to put everything you have into it over that period of time, and this was no exception. For about 6 months, this film was all I lived and breathed! I guess because the drive behind making it was so close to my heart, I pushed for it with everything I had.

Florence Kosky’s All The World’s A Stage

indieactivity: Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Florence Kosky: I think that it’s still pretty elitist. It’s hard to break into if you don’t have connections within the industry or have money. You can’t get a grant without having done any work beforehand, but most people can’t afford to make work that’s of a high enough standard to get a grant, so the doors remain firmly closed for a lot of people who potentially could be amazing storytellers which feels like a waste to me. And then a lot of the festivals only champion films that they’ve had a hand in making or have a connection to, which pisses me off because I don’t think it’s always based on merit, which defeats the point and keeps the industry as an echo chamber.

indieactivity: Where do you think your strengths line as a filmmaker?
Florence Kosky: I think working in fashion so long, coupled with a hugely nerdy interest in fantasy, science fiction and mythology, have shaped me into a filmmaker with a strong, surreal, visual style. Also, due to having experience and training as an actor, I think I have become quite good with understanding how to drive a character emotionally through their narrative arc. I don’t know, I’m still learning! I just hope that I continue to grow and develop.

indieactivity: Let’s talk finance, How did you finance the film?
Florence Kosky: We crowdfunded using indiegogo. We chose this over kickstarter (which I would recommend anyone else does!) as they allow you to keep any money you receive, even if you do not make your target.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Florence Kosky: I think we went over budget by about £3000 (WOOPS) – luckily I had savings I could access and me and the production team split the overspill. I pretty much emptied my bank account though, and I think that that is the reality of starting out in film.

Florence Kosky’s All The World’s A Stage

indieactivity: How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Florence Kosky: There’s so much great content out there, that without any marketing its so easy for them all to get lost through the cracks, so I would say it’s not impossible, but it makes a massive difference.

indieactivity: Can you tell us about your marketing activities on the project – and how it’s gone for you?
Florence Kosky: Given the subject matter and the drive behind the project, we decided to release our film online during Mental Health Awareness week. This was supported by a number of arts and fashion magazines (given my connection to the fashion industry) and influencers on social media. We created a hashtag – #KeepYourCrown – which we encouraged people to share alongside the film. Although this momentum wasn’t really useful for industry related stuff like getting into festivals (it was actually detrimental to that as a lot of festivals will not take short films that are available online), I was blown away by the response I received from the public – I got emails from NHS doctors and teachers in schools asking to use it to supplement talking about suicide, I received Instagram DMs from people who had previously struggled or were struggling with their mental health and it was just incredibly humbling. I would take this response over industry recognition any day.

indieactivity: What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Florence Kosky: I hope they are reminded to be a little kinder to each other as you never know what anyone is struggling with.

indieactivity: What else have you got in the works?
Florence Kosky: I’m working on a couple of things! I’ve got my first feature in development, which is super exciting, I’ve also started working on a pilot and also on a little project with a bunch of female filmmakers that I know, making short shorts about what it means to be a woman, today.

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