Meet Evan Snyder | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Evan Snyder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evan, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
A good cup of coffee, and making my girlfriend laugh.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I make movies, and I’m really interested in telling stories in new and unique ways that we haven’t seen much of before. So many movies follow the same predictable patterns, and to me that’s just boring. I think there’s a lot of untapped potential for cinema, so I always try to think outside the box and do my best to create things that feel totally fresh and different. These usually end up having very limited appeal, because mainstream audiences tend to prefer familiar storytelling techniques and plotlines, but I do my best to follow my instincts and make the films I want to make, and if I succeed then the people who have similar tastes to mine will appreciate my work. They’re the kinds of films that might put some people to sleep, but some people are really able to connect with them. A film consisting entirely of still photographs, or another consisting of twelve-minute shots of people waiting for the bus or loading a truck might sound boring to a lot of people, but those are the kinds of films that fascinate me, and the kinds of films I want to make.

Recently, I’ve become very interested in hyperrealism. That word is normally used to refer to drawings or paintings that look like photographs, but I use it to describe films that look and feel like real life. When we watch movies, even when the acting is very good, you can still tell that it’s acting. You can tell that the actors are reciting written lines, with rare exceptions. Sometimes, when it feels very real, I find myself wondering if was a genuine moment when the actors went off-script and it made it into the film. So many writers try to write dialogue that sounds real, but if you’re going for realism I think you’re better off actually shooting real dialogue and capturing real conversations. Even if it’s not directly pertinent to the story you’re trying to tell, it can be great character development, especially if the actors are playing characters whose personalities closely resemble their own, which is another important aspect of hyperrealism. Everyone has so many little quirks and nuances that make them unique and interesting, thousands of tiny traits and mannerisms that make them who they are. You can’t write all that into a fictional character. My most recent film, Feral Birds, consists mostly of real conversations and interactions I had with friends and family, edited into a fictional story. In many of the scenes, the people participating did not even know the camera was rolling, and I was able to capture a lot of genuine moments. The result is a film that feels very real, because most of it is real.

Professionally, I haven’t done particularly well for myself or made it very far. My films don’t make much money and don’t have much of a following. In that respect, I’m not much further than when I started, but it’s still been a lot of hard work every step of the way. And all that hard work and all of my past successes and failures have led me to where I am now and given me the tools and the skills and the experience I need for my next project, which I believe does have the strongest chance of financial success because it tells a story that many people can relate to. But of course financial success, while very nice, isn’t the ultimate goal. The real goal is to make films I am proud of and enjoy. If they make money that just means I get to keep doing it.

As far as overcoming challenges goes, I guess I would say the key to that is something like persistence, but that word doesn’t seem quite right. For me at least I would say it has a lot to do with obsession as well. I can be very lazy at times and might have given up on filmmaking a long time ago except that I don’t know what else to do. Making films can be frustrating and agonizing at times, but it’s what I’m drawn to. I want to make movies and I’m going to keep doing it. I wouldn’t know how to quit. Sometimes I wish I could, because I know there are easier ways to live. Maybe I’ll bump my head one day and that part of me that’s obsessed with making movies will go away, which honestly sounds kind of nice, as long as my other faculties remain in place. But we all have things we’re passionate about.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d hit all my favorite coffee shops near my house: Smoky Hollow Roasters and Dough Boy Donuts in El Segundo, and Tanner’s in Playa Del Rey. We’d go to Rae’s Restaurant in Santa Monica, which serves mediocre diner food, just the way it’s supposed to be, but more importantly it’s where a key scene in True Romance was filmed. Another filming location we’d stop at is the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro, which was in The Usual Suspects. It’s also a really cool outdoor spot with great views that’s usually not too crowded.

We’d get burgers at Fantastic Café and Richmond Bar & Grill, and drinks at Smoky Hollow Tasting & Taproom, all in El Segundo. And we’d hit all the BookOff locations looking for some great finds and great deals on obscure used DVDs. We’d also hit Amoeba Music and The Grove & Farmers Market, both on a weekday when they’re not as crowded.

We might catch a Groundlings show, and would definitely go to the New Beverly Cinema for a double feature of whatever seventies classics they’re showing, or maybe a midnight showing of Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. And we’d see what they’re showing at Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo. I hope it’s a Charlie Chaplin film.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Elizabeth