Hi, my name is Cole Komssi, a Film and Video student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. I’m raising funds to bring my project Walking Anxiety to life—a deeply personal film that personifies the struggles of living with anxiety and depression. With your support, I can turn this story into a raw, cinematic piece that inspires others and sheds light on an often unseen experience.

I pour every ounce of myself into each production I undergo. Over the course of my education, I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented actors and crew. They have been able to give me 110% of energy to each of my projects, and they are just as devoted as I am. Each of us wants to make a piece of art that inspires and creates awe in the viewers.

As I enter my senior year, I have the chance to create my thesis film—the project that represents the culmination of four years of learning, growth, and passion for filmmaking. Everything I’ve studied and practiced will come together in this one piece of art. I’ve chosen to dedicate the next year to revisiting Walking Anxiety, a deeply personal story I first created over a year ago. With more experience, skill, and vision, I’m ready to bring it to life in a way that fully captures its honesty and impact. This film is more than a thesis—it’s a chance to share an important story about living with anxiety, and with your support, I can make it a reality.

Walking Anxiety 2024

Walking Anxiety is a story born from my own struggles with anxiety, brought to life as if that persistent voice in the back of my head were real. With that idea in mind, I collaborated with a classmate to write the film, and I took on directing, cinematography, and post-production. What began as a class project has since grown into a proof of concept for a new story I’m developing.

What continues to draw me back to Walking Anxiety is how deeply it reflects where I am in life. Even three years later, I feel this personal story remains unfinished. My training and experience have helped me discover that the stories I want to tell often stem from the emotions and challenges I’ve faced—anxiety, vulnerability, and the struggle to navigate daily life. The tight knot in my chest when stepping outside, the weight behind simple interactions, the emotions hidden in everyday routines—all of these inform my work.

This new version of Walking Anxiety gives me the chance to revisit those ideas with greater confidence, skill, and self-awareness. By embracing the parts of myself I once tried to ignore, I can tell this story with honesty and clarity, aiming for a raw, cinematic truth that captures the human experience at its most unfiltered.

Synopsis

Walking Anxiety tracks two separate but interconnected characters as they encounter the embodied versions of their greatest fears. Each one must confront and deal with these distortions of reality as their worries spiral out of control and begin to impact their lives in increasingly surreal ways. In the end, these two individuals come to understand they do not need to rid themselves of their anxiety, but rather they must accept it and live alongside it.

Characters

Following the stories of two individuals who are driven and controlled by their anxiety. Theo and Rosa have unique experiences with their own personal struggles throughout the course of the film.

Theo

anxiety is very interior

-24 years old, remote worker (i.e. graphic designer, programmer, or editor)

-obsessed with movies and ancient Greek and Roman Art

-story of isolation, mild agoraphobia, making connections

-compares himself and body to others, and in the media he consumes

Rosa

anxiety is exterior

-26 years old, work/goal driven, obsessed over providing for those around her

-corporate job

-impostor syndrome, compares her success to others (i.e. obsessed with the influencers she follows)

-story of wanting to be seen and fulfilled, she wants to feel like she is enough

Anxiety

-An illusion

-No origin story

-Like a ghost

-The personification of Theo’s and Rosa’s individual anxieties

I want to use dramatic lighting and the depth of field to paint him in the shadows of each scene. Anxiety is always there, lurking for Theo and Rosa at every turn.