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Explore FILMNET's exclusive filmmaker interview with Evan Gardner | Read their filmmaking insights, creative influences, styles, and so much more.

Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself? Give us a brief introduction!

I am a Creative Director, Producer, Shooter and Editor based in New York. I have filmed live events such as interviews with national politicians during the 2012 second Presidential Debate, and live concerts with artists such as Snoop Dog, Cobra Starship, and Big Sean. My work has also been seen on ABC, NBC, MSG Channel, FS1, CBS Sports and News12. ​

My first documentary in 2019, Finding Our Voice has won 5 Tellys, accepted into 5 festivals and is distributed with Films Media Group in Universities and Non-Profits throughout North America.

My work focuses on telling the true stories of people through video and photography.

Where are you currently based out of?

Queens, New York

What inspired you to start creating films?

When I was in high school, I took an editing class that started to really peak my interest into the film world. When I was a senior, Stony Brook University was creating a virtual 9/11 museum for Long Island first responders and I volunteered to help edit some of the stories together. That experience really showed me the power of documentaries and the stories behind them.

Who most inspires/influences your style and specific execution currently and why?

Most of my influences and inspiration don't come from movies, but from music. When I listen to certain music or certain artists, I can almost envision a visual story being told that influences the work I am trying to create. When I worked on my first documentary, I listened to a lot of Sia. When I created my most recent project, I listened to a lot of the Wonder Years.

What is your favorite film of all time?

The movie Her

As a creator, what do you find to be the thing that most drives you to succeed? We like to use this portion for others to learn from you!

The thing that really drives me to succeed is my competitivness. I really strive to not only put out just a piece of content, but a great piece of content. I am a football fan and while I do not like Tom Brady, he says a quote that I can't help but agree with. He was asked which of his championships is his favorite and his response was "My Favorite Ring is Always the Next One." It is very easy to become complicate and settle once you reach some level of success, but the hard thing to do is to keep on doing it.

What is your overall dream in life?

My dream in life is to one day win an Emmy for something I either created or worked on.

What’s the title of your current project?

The Strength We share

What is your role in the film?

Director and Producer

Who is the director & who is the writer?

I am the director and Kyle Kaine is the Co Writer with me

What is the film’s genre?

Documentary

What is the film’s logline?

12 mothers from across New York State discuss Motherhood in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

What inspired the way that you went about executing this project?

I felt like the topic of Motherhood during such a chaotic time in history was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic that was not covered in the media enough. The unique perspective of what it’s like to raise a child in the middle of a pandemic was something we thought was truly powerful and largely untouched in terms of coverage of the challenges we as a community faced. Mothers are effectively the backbone of our society and we felt that those stories and the emotional aspects surrounding them were not given quite enough of a spotlight in the current discord of COVID. We wanted to try to focus on that and give a voice to those emotions and stories.

What was the most difficult part in the process of creating this film? How did you overcome it?

I think the hardest part creating this film was the fact that many of these stories were hard to hear, and to effectively tell the stories of these mothers was so important. All of the mothers in this story entrusted me and the team to share their experience correctly so it felt like an honor but also a pressure to do it correctly.

What was the most fun part of this entire production?

I am proud to say this documentary has truly been a collective effort. It’s the culmination of a community of mothers hoping to tell their stories and share their lives with the world. Despite not being mothers ourselves, we each have family and friends living through the varying stages of motherhood, and we are honored that they were willing to let us tell their stories. Being able to pull from the vastly different lives and experiences of those of us working on this documentary allowed us to seamlessly build a fully realized story to show the world. This documentary features Mothers we got to meet during filming for the first time, as well as our sisters, cousins, aunts, and more. We are overjoyed to have been able to tell their stories.

What is the single greatest lesson you learned along the creation of this particular project?

Every single person experienced covid in a very different way. When I showed this film to people outside of the New England area, they were shocked by some of the stories I shared. I think for many people not in the immediate area, covid was not as "scary" as it was for people here.

Is there anything else you would like us to know? Or any final thoughts/things you’d like to share with our readers?

Even before Covid-19, I personally felt like the child care system for parents was extremely inadequate and expensive. After making this documentary I really saw how much of a burden mothers have to be moms in America. What was amazing to me was the resiliency of them and how each mom we spoke to really was a hero in there own right.