Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Elizabeth Snyder
Hi Kristen Elizabeth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Kristen Elizabeth Snyder – Documentary Filmmaker/Director
With only $700 and a lot of big ideas, I hit the road alone 15 years ago driving from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles to pursue my of dream of becoming a filmmaker. My first year in LA was tough. I slept on the futon at the office of my first job in LA and ate nothing but peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Coming out to LA broke & alone was very difficult, but if you want it bad enough, you’ll figure out a way to do it!
My love for film began at the age of five when my father would allow me to stay up with him well after my bedtime to watch old western films. I spent my childhood reenacting films, and shooting short skits with my friends on my Quasar VHS Palmcorder. In fifth grade, I wrote and directed a short play, The Midnight Burial, which my class ended up performing for the entire school at our end of year assembly.
One of the many reasons I love Los Angeles is it’s incredibly unpredictable. I’ve been in a lot of rooms and sat at a lot of tables with people I could never imagine meeting. I just feel so fortunate to have been in those situations, because I was able to kickstart my career from there. I got my ‘lucky break’ in the industry by being invited as my friend’s plus 1 to a dinner party where I was seated next to Michael Bay & Maria Menounos. Keven Undergaro, Maria’s husband, and I exchanged stories of our circus and carnival past, and they invited me to their podcast studio to watch one of their live shows. From there, I continued to make the most out of every situation I found myself in and was able to make an opportunity out of it.
That dinner party put me on a path that led to many other industry opportunities. I have worked on several television projects including an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I have also worked at other jobs that allowed me to pursue my creative ambitions as I currently handle executive operations for a private equity firm, and I am a Writer, Producer & On-Air Host with over 15 years of experience in the Podcast Industry. I’ve hosted the Afterbuzz TV AfterShow for Breaking Bad with Maria Menounos, The Teen Wolf Aftershow, which led to several appearances on MTV, and The Game of Thrones Aftershow Podcast, which led to my most recent hosting work at HBO. My past experiences also include working in the writer’s room on the Boy Meets World remake, Girl Meets World. I met my co-host of my podcast “Becoming an Expert” on the last podcast we produced together called Sex with Emily, which was a SiriusXM Radio show of the same name.
When I’m not podcasting, I’ve been working on my documentary about my circus family history and the nature of pursuing a dream called, One Dream Too Many. I started the film shortly after I arrived in Los Angeles and just finished 13 years later in July 2024. My film recently won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Silicon Beach Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood. I am currently looking for distribution on a streaming platform, while continuing to show my film at different festivals around the country. Since finishing the film in July, we’ve been accepted into nine festivals and received two awards. It was my dream to move to Los Angeles and make a film that would be shown in theaters, and if you told my younger childhood self this dream of mine would actually come true 15 years after moving to Los Angeles, I would be shocked and so proud of my adult self and what I’ve accomplished. I definitely didn’t go about it the traditional route. In fact, I took full-time jobs in technology & the finance industry in order to make my film. I wanted to be able to afford to give life to my ideas, without the financial help & creative controls of a studio. And, I wasn’t going to wait for someone to be interested in investing in my work in order to create the art I wanted to share with the world.
One Dream Too Many is a documentary that tells the history, struggles, and success of my family, the Latlip Family Circus in the early 1900s. They set world records and became recognized globally for their death defying acts which included; high diving, the upside down derby, and flying trapeze. The film also follows five of the surviving Latlip family members over the course of 13 years as they pursue their dreams in singing, screenwriting, poetry, and filmmaking. The unemotional, unwavering, unfiltered eye of the camera tells a heartfelt story that reveals the benefits of pursuing a life outside of the typical daily grind and serves as an inspiration to its viewers.
For updates on where you can see my Film follow us on instagram!
Instagram for my Film: @OneDreamTooMany
Instagram for Kristen: @CinematicEscape
I graduated a year early from Ithaca College in 2009 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Cinema, Photography & Media Arts, a concentration in Screenwriting, and a minor in Business Administration. I was a semifinalist in the International Screenwriting Competition – Scriptapalooza in 2009, and a Creative World Awards Screenwriting Competition finalist for two separate entries in 2010.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The struggles along the way include driving 42 hours alone from Pennsylvania out to Los Angeles without knowing anyone or having an opportunity waiting for me.
I emailed Michael Jacobs out of the blue and told him I was a fan of Boy Meets World and asked for a job on his new show that was coming out, Girl Meets World. He ended up responding, meeting me at a Starbucks, and gave me a job working on his new show. That was my first dream that came true as Boy Meets World was my favorite TV show growing up. It’s hard to describe what it felt like working in a room full of people who truly inspired you as a kid, but for me, it was the happiest place on earth!
Los Angeles is a constant struggle especially if you don’t know anyone. I had to start over many times after being laid off from a job and debating on continuing to struggle in Los Angeles or going home. I never really considered giving up an option as I’m from such a small town in Pennsylvania where there’s not a lot of opportunity to explore your creative interests.
Another struggle I experienced was coming up with the financing to make a feature film, it took a lot of time and effort. I put together an Indiegogo Campaign, approached individual contributors and pitched them on why they should contribute to my Film. I also took a lot of moonlight jobs & side hustles to make extra money.
If you’re going to come out to Los Angeles, I would say it’s best to do it while you’re young, and you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, even if that’s sleeping on a futon at the office of your first job like I did.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think what sets me apart from others is the fact that I’m resilient, and even in tough times I find a way to get through it and stay focused on the end goal without a trophy in sight. While making this film, I also realized how important it is to stay present & enjoy the journey. There’s no need to waste time comparing yourself to the best in your field, and you don’t have to feel the pressure of earning a living from your art. Creating art is about sharing your unique perspective and the way you see the world. Changing others perspectives through storytelling, painting, poetry, songwriting. You can always create on the side and maintain a full-time job that has a steady income if that’s what you want to do. There’s no reason that you have to be a struggling artist just trying to survive. I found a way around the traditional route of becoming a filmmaker. I took a stable job that allowed me to make the art that I wanted to make instead of working at a studio & essentially working on someone else’s dream.
I specialize in podcasting, hosting live events, and documentary filmmaking. The Game of Thrones special I hosted for HBO received over 9 million views. I have appeared numerous times on MTV hosting Teen Wolf Specials. The Game of Thrones Podcast I hosted for Afterbuzz TV received 25 million downloads per week in more than 75 countries along with all the shows they offer on the AfterBuzz TV Network. I’ve always had more than one job since I’ve been in Los Angeles, it’s a grind, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Success is the cherry on top, but the journey of trying is more satisfying to me than being depressed and not pursuing my artistic pursuits. I went to Film school to study filmmaking, but I also chose to get a business degree from Ithaca College. I firmly believe boundaries are meant to be pushed. Rules are meant to be broken. If you try to follow the way things have been done in the past, it may sound too difficult, and discourage you from even trying to pursue your passions. I think it’s incredibly important to go about it your own way. And hopefully, you have a few cheerleaders like I did.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My best advice is to do it yourself, do it broke, do it tired, do it your own way, and keep doing it for as long as it takes! You don’t have to be the best, you don’t have to waste time comparing yourself to others. All you have to do is try and enjoy the journey while you’re pursuing your dreams. Make sure you’re doing whatever it is you’re trying to do for the right reasons.
My film, One Dream Too Many, is about my family’s history in Circus. There’s a lot to learn from my circus family, they weren’t trying to be the best, they just wanted to bring joy to other people through entertainment and earn a living during the depression. If nothing was happening, my great grandfather, Captain David Latlip, would make something happen. People communicate joy, pain, and other life experiences through art, but we’ve gotten away from the joy of creating, connecting, and communicating through art. It’s an emotional film about real life, but the audience is also going to smile. Stay tuned on my film’s Instagram @OneDreamTooMany for updates & where you can see the film.
Through those life experiences mentioned above, and by diving into the history of my family’s circus, I learned to redefine the idea of success as a journey rather than an end result. I didn’t do this to be a famous filmmaker, but to preserve my family’s legacy. My next steps in my journey include submitting One Dream Too Many to more film festivals and trying to sell it to a streaming platform – but if that doesn’t happen, I feel completely satisfied with how far I’ve come. The journey itself feels more like the trophy. I got a lot of enjoyment out of making the film & sharing it in theaters with my friends and family. It took me 13 years to finish the film and a lot of setbacks, but I finally finished July 2024, and it has been the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had.
I think it’s important to create a plan, and make sure you’re taking actions every day to help make that plan a reality. Set small goals for yourself & make sure you’re disciplined. Reflect on your daily habits and make sure they’re moving you forward. If they’re not, slowly implement new habits.
After watching my film, I hope you’re inspired to return to any childhood dreams you may have left in the past and take that first step in the direction of your dreams, even if it’s just washing the paintbrushes or getting that guitar out of the closet! That first action you take will build momentum, and you’ll be on your way!
Here’s a link to trailer for my film, One Dream Too Many:
Contact Info:
- Website: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/3198667 and www.CinematicEscape.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CinematicEscape
- Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/becoming-an-expert/id1536994129
- Other: https://www.onedreamtoomany.com
Image Credits
@angiesilvy
@dynamitephoto
