On set with Tosca Musk

Elon's director sister tells us all the secrets of the Passionflix platform and her latest filming in Florence

Director, producer and mother - as her Instagram profile underscores - three years younger than her brother Elon, Tosca Musk is the family’s creative soul, co-founder and CEO of Passionflix, which releases movies and series adapted from best-selling romance novels. She recently returned to Florence to continue filming the third instalment of Sylvain Reynard’s Gabriel’s Inferno series, Gabriel’s Redemption, the first part of which will premiere on Passionflix in late spring or early summer 2023. Italian actorGiulio Berruti and Australian actor Melanie Zanetti star in the trilogy directed by Tosca Musk, executive producer the Florence-based film production company, Dado Production.

How did you develop a passion for filmmaking and direction?

When I was very young, I saw Xanadu with Olivia Newton John and I decided then that I wanted to make movies so I could make people disappear and reappear like Kira does in that film. Years later, I went to film school and then worked in various roles in the industry. I produced for many years, but after I had my children, I wanted to do something more creatively fulfilling which led me back to directing.

And the idea for the Passionflix platform?

We wanted to turn bestselling romance novels into movies and series and there was nowhere we could release them at the time because they were considered too risqué, so we decided to create our own platform.

Some backstage photos of filming Gabriel’s Redemption in Florence, the third instalment of the trilogy directed by Tosca Musk (ph. Silvia Bavetta)

Why did you choose Florence?

We follow the books very closely and Florence plays an important role in this series. Our characters visit the Uffizi Gallery, and we were honoured to be given the opportunity to film there. Also, a key element in Gabriel’s Inferno is the story of Dante and Beatrice and their relationship and so we wanted to go everywhere we could in Florence that had memories of them.

Some backstage photos of filming Gabriel’s Redemption in Florence, the third instalment of the trilogy directed by Tosca Musk (ph. Silvia Bavetta)

Which main shooting locations did you use apart from Florence?

In Italy, Umbria, in England, Oxford, and we’ll be in Atlanta for the remainder of the shoot.