David Black interviews Declan Cole-Flynn for the Australian Short Film Network
I first met Declan at one of the many local short film nights in Melbourne. He’s been an avid supporter of the local indie film scene for years. He’s written, produced, directed and acted in a few, so this guy is an all-rounder! He is the son of award winning playwright, Neil Cole, so it’s all in the blood.
Today, I’m chatting with Declan and will get to the heart of what makes this man tick!
DB – Hi Declan, thanks for taking the time to chat to me today. I believe that you studied filmmaking at RMIT? Can you tell us a bit about that and what got you into filmmaking?
DCF – Yeah I had a fun time at film school in 2012 and 13, I feel it was a good start to learning and made a good connection of people. By the end I felt I’d had enough and no plan to do the degree. I just wanted to get out there and start doing things.
DB – Way back in 2014, you wrote and directed a short called “Drugs Not Thugs”. Tell us a bit about that.
DCF - That was my first independent short film, At the time I was very driven to the genre of crime. I admit now it was kind of like a feature film jammed into 15 minutes, I wouldn’t recommend that for future filmmakers.
DB – Also, in 2014, you acted in “Queen of the Bees”. Is acting something that you wish to pursue further, or has it been something that you’ve done to help improve your writing and directing skills?
DCF – I was actually just an extra in QOTB, I did a bit of community theatre in high school; I enjoy a bit of acting but I love screenwriting and directing too much.
It’s not that you can’t do all three but as the saying goes ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. I’ve learnt a lot about the craft in recent years mainly from mentor Peter Kalos, as film school mainly taught me the tech side and getting the best performance is really what I believe gives the best product.
DB – In 2018, you wrote and directed “Ghost Affair.” You even had a successful kickstarter for it. This must have been quite the journey!
DCF – Yeah, that’s my proudest work so far. The kickstarter was tough, glad I reached the goal but a long journey of networking and finding the right market.
I had an amazing cast and crew, after attending the Melbourne Actors since 2014 to when we were filming, it was such a great experience to finally put the skills I’ve learnt from Peter about being a great director to the test.
Was a long post production mainly due to VFX, along with other tech situations in post. One of the most painful things in filmmaking but like the old saying “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”
DB – Declan, what are your plans for the future? What amazing things can our readers look forward to seeing?
DCF – I’m currently writing a feature Horror Comedy film that I’ve been on for like 2 or so years. I’m in early development and hope to shoot next year, that of course depends on lockdowns and where we’re at next year.
DB – Thanks for taking the time to chat to me today Declan. Where can our readers follow your work?