It’s never too late to change things around in life, and director/screenwriter Shaun Hart is proving that with his latest indie drama The Fall that features a stack of seasoned actors with a relatable storyline.
In The Fall, a brash, amateur photographer, reeling from her mother’s suicide, must rectify her self-destruction and accept the past in order to receive love and redemption.
“It’s a coming of age healing story about a girl who is having to deal with family grief and coming to terms with her past to be able to move forward and become the person she wants to be,” actor Thomas Cocquerel, who plays William, says of the film in an exclusive interview with Celeb Secrets.
“The film hits on everything from love to loss — it’s very relatable to everybody. It’s based off our writer and director’s real life, so for us to take on these roles, we just wanted to do it justice and it makes it that much more special,” Cassie Scerbo, who plays Tiffany League adds.
Starring Cocquerel and Scerbo, along with Jocelyn Hudon, Jeremy Sumpter, Matthew Fahey, Gustavo Gomez, Robin Gammel, Annie Abbott and Jim O’Heir, making the flick came natural to all of the actors as they have known each other from being in the industry for so long and living in Los Angeles.
“We shot this a few years ago and it’s super cool because we’ve known each other for maybe like 20 years — since we were kids — and we’ve always talked about doing stuff together but never really had the opportunity until this project came around and we were like, ‘we’re doing something,'” Matthew Fahey, who plays Dave, reveals.
The Fall was one of many that premiered on the big screen at the Mammoth Film Festival in Mammoth Lakes, California, which took place at the Minaret Cinemas from February 29 to March 4.
“I love it here. I grew up in Kentucky, and we had some snow here and there. We just had two feet of snow in Nashville a couple of months ago, but this is a lot. This is more snow than I’ve seen in my life,” Jeremy shares.
“There’s a million emotions… we’re surviving the blizzard,” Cassie continues. “I’m just so proud of this cast and crew. A lot of us have known each other just from being in the industry for so long and living in LA, and to come together right after COVID — it was 2021 when we filmed this — it was just amazing to really be back on a set and to be with people that are like family. We really just grew even closer.”
With a full-on blizzard and 195mph winds sweeping the Sierra Nevada Mountains, out-of-this-world conditions didn’t stop Thomas, Jeremy, Cassie, Matthew and the rest of the cast from celebrating the special moment — even though Thomas was caught in a crazy car crash on the commute up earlier in the week.
“We’re feeling lucky to be here. I know a lot of people haven’t been able to make it up ’cause they’ve closed the mountain down. I’m lucky to make it up ’cause we got in a car crash on Thursday driving up,” Thomas continues. “We rode off a car, which was pretty nuts; I was in the backseat, but it was pretty scary. We’re feeling very lucky and privileged to be here and very excited to share the film with everyone.”
And while there are so many themes, life lessons and relatable storylines sprinkled throughout The Fall, Cassie and Matthew say the overall messages of the film is that you should not only hug your loved ones, but also you can move forward from whatever obstacles life gives you.
“Our co-star Thomas [Cocquerel] was saying this earlier of just about healing and accepting your past and moving forward. No matter what you’ve been through, it’s never too late to just change it all around and to do a 360. And that’s what Jocelyn’s character does in the film. And like [Matthew] said earlier… just hug your loved ones. There are so many dynamics in this film and that’s why it’s so relatable,” Cassie explains.
“The basis of the is to hug your grandparents and give the people you love a call,” Matthew adds. “I think it’s supposed to make the audience not feel alone, so hopefully there’s some help that somebody can find within this film.”
For more on the flick, watch our interviews with Thomas, Jeremy, Cassie and Matthew below.
For more coverage from the 2024 Mammoth Film Festival, click here.
