Actor and filmmaker Kiernan Fagan chatted about his theatrical directorial debut with his new short film “Echoes of the Snow.”
It was written and Directed by Kiernan Fagan and it was produced by Fagan Motionworks. The movie stars Kiernan Fagan, Deven Fagan, Dylan Baker, and Sawyer Klatt.
Synopsis of ‘Echoes of the Snow’
Set in the aftermath of World War I, “Echoes of the Snow” follows a group of American soldiers stationed in the French Alps on a mission that begins as duty — and descends into something far more personal.
As silence spreads across the mountains, old wounds reopen, loyalties fracture, and the cold reveals what war never buried.
On his theatrical directorial debut, Fagan remarked, “A lot of work went into this. I’ve already done over 130 hours of editing because I am pretty much doing everything myself. So, it has been very time consuming but it has been very fun.”
Fagan on being a first-time director
On being a first-time director, he said, “This is definitely something I’ve been passionate about for years. So, I’ve always been waiting for the opportunity to be able to direct a film or act in a movie.”
“I feel like I’ve just been waiting around forever, waiting for somebody to give me the opportunity and chance. It got to a point where I finally decided that I’m going to do this myself,” he said.
“I know what I’m capable of,” he admitted. “So. I got my brother and a few friends together, and we just went out and did it ourselves. A bunch of people have given us some very good feedback, and that’s very exciting.”
Working with the cast and crew
On working with the cast and crew, “That was really fun. I made this with my twin brother, Deven and my two very close friends: Dylan Baker and Sawyer Klatt. We’ve all worked with each other in the past on a bunch of projects.”
“We shot it for four days in Colorado, up in the mountains. A lot of people don’t realize how much actually goes into the behind the scenes of a film, and that makes you have a lot more respect for these bigger movies and even smaller projects because it is so much work,” he elaborated.
“We were all helping shoot, and we worked on the script together. Being able to work with people that you’re super close with just makes it so much more fun and a lot easier, streamlines the process, because we all share that same collective vision of what we want to go out and do,” he explained.
“It was a really cool experience being able to go out and do that ourselves,” he admitted. “We were bringing 50 pound bags of all the equipment miles out into the snow in middle of the night. It was so windy that the torches were going out.”
“So, we actually had no lighting for the film. Every night scene was lit using fire,” he said.
“So we had torches with fire, we had campfires, and we have to keep that stuff going for hours at a time to get the shots we needed to get, which was very complicated and difficult to do, but it was an extremely fun experience,” he added.
Lessons learned from the screenplay
On the lessons learned from the “Echoes of the Snow” screenplay, he shared, “It taught me to go out and take risks. It’s always worth it to put in the work and go after something.”
“If you are passionate about something, go for it, even though it might take 10 times more work than you initially anticipated,” he said. “It’s always worth it at the other end of the tunnel.”
“We really want to prove to people that we can do this on our own,” he added.
Future plans
Fagan revealed that they are working on another short film right now, which they will be shooting in two months from now in Utah.
“Then, we are planning out our third project, which is going to be a lot bigger, and hopefully, we can get that in theaters, so that should be exciting,” he added.
The digital age
On being a filmmaker in the digital age, Fagan said, “I think all you can do is follow your true passion and what you truly love to go do.”
“Filmmaking has always been a big part of my life, especially coming from being a professional skier. I was shooting all my own ski videos, working with a lot of friends,” he noted.
“Then as I went more into fitness, that’s where I really fell in love with filmmaking, because I would go more into cinematic shots and mimicking movie clips, adding all of that into some of my fitness content and longer form content on YouTube,” he elaborated.
“It got to a point where I fell so in love with cinema and these movies.I’m like, ‘Wow, that is truly what I want to do.’ So, I made the decision to go out and make my own film,” he explained.
“This is what I see myself doing for potentially the rest of my life,” he foreshadowed.
Fagan on Luke Elsman
Fagan had great words about fitness professional and social influencer Luke Elsman, “Luke is a really good guy. He is super nice, very positive and a great deal of fun to be around. He is killing it in the fitness influencer world with all the social platforms,” Fagan said.
Message for his fans and supporters
For his fans and supporters, Fagan remarked, “A lot of this wouldn’t be possible without people appreciating the work that we do. So, it truly means the world to us that there’s a demand for the type of content we put out and do.”
“All I really want to do is be able to inspire other people to chase their dreams no matter what that is, because I’ve been so inspired by watching other people,” he noted.
“If I can do that for other people, and they can feel something and be inspired to go do something in their lives by watching the work that I’m doing and the journey that I’m on, that’s really all I can ask for,” he elaborated.
Closing thoughts on ‘Echoes of the Snow’
Fagan expressed about “Echoes of the Snow,” “I really just wanted to show people that even if you don’t have the budgets, the funding, and the crews, you can still do it.”
“Remember that you are in charge of your own life and what you want to do, especially if you work hard,” he underscored.
“So, go out, make a project, get your friends together and do whatever it is that you are passionate about, because you have to start somewhere, and you have to start at some point. That could lead to something that changes the rest of our life,” he elaborated.
“I hope they can use this as proof that they can do things on their own. This is really just the first start to show people that we are capable of,” he concluded.
To learn more about actor and filmmaker Kiernan Fagan, follow him on Instagram.
