SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – What started as a short film that was a top 20 finalist at the 2016 Louisiana Film Prize is now a full-length feature film.

“The Twin,” adapted from the 2016 short “The Hangman,” held its red carpet premiere on Thursday, July 10. The cast and crew, almost all of whom are from the Shreveport area, spoke highly of the support they received from the community.

“I had such an exceptional experience coming here,” said lead actor Logan Donovan. “The town is so welcoming. It was so supportive of our production. It was an amazing experience, so coming back here to share it with the community in this way in this big, beautiful theater is really special for us.”

(Courtesy of KTAL/KMSS Isabella Cheng)

The director, J.C. Doler, is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Shreveport in 2015 to join the vibrant independent film community of Shreveport.

“I love the indie film community here,” Doler said. “I was like, ‘Well, if I just keep coming here, I should just move here,’ and that’s what I did. I’ve worked on and edited nine features since then, and this is my first feature as a director.”

Doler said he knew from the first day of production that the movie would get made during the filming of a scene where an actor falls down a staircase.

“I was like, ‘Okay, if this works, then the rest is going to work out fine,'” Doler said. “That was probably my favorite memory from production. Just knowing that we did it. We got there, which so many people have not been able to do, so I felt really thankful and grateful.”

Logan Donovan plays the character Nicholas, a father who is grieving the loss of his son while wrestling with visions of his “fetch.” In Irish folklore, a fetch is a supernatural doppelganger, or in this case, a twin, that foreshadows the impending death of the person who sees it.

The Twin movie – red carpet premiere – The Strand Theatre, Shreveport

Donovan had his hands on the script for three years, mentally preparing himself for the role. He is also a producer on the film and worked closely with director J.C. Doler and writer Paul Petersen to help make “a horror with a heart.”

“To satisfy that jumpy, scary experience but also leave the audience with some nutrition on the backend,” Donovan said. “It was really important for us to highlight mental health awareness. I hope people come away with more than just the experience of being scared in a movie. I think the movie is very character-driven.”

Donovan said his favorite part about the character is how grounded Nicholas is in what is important to him, including his family and the relationship with his wife.

“Just having the fortitude to push through a terrible experience, facing the grief process head-on, and sticking with it, finding help,” Donovan said. “Everyone who sees the movie has had an experience with loss, with grief, or they will. It’s not a clean experience, and it’s not an easy experience, but if you go looking for help, you will find it and you will get through it.”

The film is available now to buy or rent on Amazon and Apple TV before it hits streaming on Shudder in the fall.

“We’d love everybody to see it,” Donovan said. “As many as possible to share our film, to share our work. We’re really proud of it.”