An Ode to Procrastination
The art of pretending everything is just fine
Directed by Aleksandra Kingo
With a blend of dark humour and slightly bizarre charm, this tongue-in-cheek short film takes audiences on a journey through the struggles encountered by creatives. Through a masterful interplay of humour and absurdity, Aleksandra Kingo captures the all-too-relatable dance between ambition and avoidance, exposing the pressures and anxieties inherent in the creative process. An Ode to Procrastination promises a hilariously poignant exploration of the lengths we'll go to avoid confronting our deepest fears.
The concept behind An Ode to Procrastination is both relatable and comical. What inspired you to explore the theme of creative struggles through the lens of procrastination?
Honestly, my own creative struggles! Ode was written while trying to come up with a script for another film entirely - it was my very first personal film project, so despite having worked on lots of commercial shoots before it felt like a bit of a make it or break it moment. Something that would show whether or not I am a decent director, whether I am good enough when there isn’t a client to approve the end result. It is what I feel everyone in our industry feels sometimes even though we are so good at pretending we are absolutely fine. Everything Sarah talks about is a bunch of self-soothing white lies - while actually she is quite terrified that perhaps she is not good enough or that she won’t be able to finish. So the film was an attempt to make friends with Procrastination and to accept it as a part of the creative process.
Sarah, the protagonist in your film, grapples with the fear of starting her lifelong project. Can you shed light on how you've portrayed her thought process and struggles in a way that audiences find both relatable and slightly absurd?
Sarah’s project is not necessarily lifelong but it certainly feels that way to her. The process of writing Ode was very very meta - it started with taking notes of my own thoughts revolving around creativity - like when I find myself watching memes on TikTok for hours when all I needed was to find one reference, or suddenly feeling terrified that I am putting time and effort into something that will simply get lost in the constant stream of online content… Or, vice versa, that I will make something awesome and will never be able to make anything better after that. In a way, Sarah is me, but she is also every other doubtful creative out there. The film promises a blend of comedy and slightly grotesque elements.
How did you strike a balance between humour and the darker undertones of creative anxiety within the narrative?
Taking slightly darker, uncomfortable topics and wrapping them into fun candy coloured packaging is something I enjoy the most - humour is a universal tool to speak to the audience and to create something relatable especially with a topic like procrastination. Like, it absolutely sucks but it’s also not the end of the world so it feels appropriate to have a good laugh about. On a practical level, there was a lot of bouncing ideas with fellow creatives making sure it came across funny but friendly and gentle. Everyone has a little bit of Sarah in them and I wanted to make a film that is supportive, not demeaning or too grotesque.
We love the production design. Can you tell us more about your collaboration with Amy Friend and how you briefed her?
Sure! Me and Amy met about 8 years ago when we were both baby creatives and we have supported and uplifted each other ever since. So we are usually in perfect sync and know each other’s taste inside out - she has a perfect balance between sophistication and heavy pop-culture which is what I am also all about. So the process of working on Ode was very smooth. I loved the idea of a timeless, slightly fantastical look that isn’t attached to a particular era. It all started with finding the right house - coincidentally, my location scout Luke had a folder of mid-century houses that he had left from a past Marilyn Monroe movie job. So we ended up in a beautiful but slightly run down art deco house in South London.
It was very exciting - before Ode, I tended to mostly work in a studio where we created all the environments from scratch and had full control but here it's all about working with the location itself to make it brighter and more art directed throughout. The space we had was already fabulous with all the wooden finishing and art deco detailing, so mainly we needed to add colour which happened through textured textiles and prop styling - both me and Amy love working with colour and use it as a visual tool to create mood and direct viewers attention. Of course wardrobe also played a crucial role in that - shout out to my stylist Natasha Freeman!
“Taking slightly darker, uncomfortable topics and wrapping them into fun candy coloured packaging is something I enjoy the most.”
In the creation of An Ode to Procrastination, what were some of the challenges you faced in bringing this tongue-in-cheek concept to life, and how did you navigate those challenges during production?
To be completely honest, I think self doubt was my biggest enemy for quite a while. Producing a film, even as short as Ode, takes a lot of time and energy of me as a director but also of the whole crew and I feel for a while I procrastinated to start filming because I was worried that perhaps the film isn’t good enough and that I am wasting my crews time with it? What it takes is talking to people. Showing the script to the crew and getting reassurance about it. Honestly the production of Ode felt like a giant wave of support carrying me all the way through it. Talented people believing in me. Stepping up to help on every step of pre and post production. It was wild and wonderful really and really made me believe I can do this.
What’s next for you?
Releasing An Ode to Procrastination out in the world was a very wholesome and rewarding experience as in the year of it doing festival rounds I have further broken into directing, worked with Drew Barrymore and the Lionesses, got out of the studio and out on location even more. It’s been fun. Currently I am working on two more short films - both are comedy and generally speaking one is about trying to belong and another touches the themes of art directing reality for social media. So more existentialism in candy wrapping really! I collaborated with a writer this time though so can I procrastinate less.
Written and Directed by Aleksandra Kingo
Producer: Rupert Style
Executive Producer: Angela Woods
Starring: Sarah Sayuri Hare
Director Of Photography: Matthew J. Smith
Production Designer: Amy Friend
Editor: Sam Hopkins
Costume Designer: Natasha Freeman
Music Composer: Toby Andersen
Sound: Robert Kivits
Production Manager: Luke Jackson
1st AC: Stephanie Kennedy
Assistant Director: Mark Layton
Focus Puller: Stephanie Kennedy
2nd Ac: Jack Degg
Dit: Paul Swann
Key Grip: Peter J. Olney
Grips: Adrian Mccarthy, Rogan Brown
Boom Operator: Rubin Smith
Gaffer: Massimo Filippi
Best Boy Electrician: Jack Cullis
Electricians: Breandan Mcbennett, Nathan Suth, Dylan Schultz-Soo
Prop Stylist: Helen Zarkina
Art Dept Assistant: Alex Poll
Costume Assistant: Phoebe Brannick
Costume Assistant: Libby Bobe
Make-Up: Wilma Stigson
Make-Up Assistant: Ellie Warrington-Brown
Hair: Chris Kurz
Runners. William Curry, Eva Rogelj, Millie Allan
Security: Cayden Meier, Sean Steer
SFX: Martin Godward
Cameras: Panavision
Lighting: Panalux
Extras: Mercedes Von Thun, Estelle Digridi, Chloe Doherty, China Jade Tang, Nathan Stokes, Mark Hopkins
Colourist: Simona Cristea
VFX Artist: Jon Hollis
Title Design: Dylan Kendle
Stills Retoucher: Kristina Keke
Storyboard Artist: Valentin Petuhov
Special thanks to: Neil Champagne, Veronica Diaferia & Sara Eolin, Mick Walsh, George Martin, Pete Burch & Gus Quirk