A year after its triumphant debut at SXSW, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, the indie film BOB TREVINO LIKES IT has officially hit theaters. Starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo, the film draws inspiration from the unexpected real-life friendship that writer, director and producer Tracie Laymon struck up with a stranger while searching for her estranged father online. To bring the film to life, Tracie enlisted a talented team of AFI filmmakers, including producers — AFI Faculty Sean Mullin and AFI Conservatory Alum Edgar Rosa (AFI Class of 2014) — along with editor Anisha Acharya (AFI Class of 2014) and Post-Production Supervisor Rich Song (AFI Class of 2012). In a conversation on the AFI Campus, they discussed the challenges of getting the film off the ground, their connection to this heartfelt story and the invaluable lessons they took away from the experience.

AFI: Can you tell us more about the challenging start to filming you encountered?

Producer Sean Mullin: At lunch on day one of filming, SAG authorized the strike. We were allowed to continue shooting because it didn’t go into effect until midnight. The next day, we had to shut down while we waited on a film waiver from SAG. Meanwhile, all the agents and managers are like, “Hey, are you guys booking flights back? You know, the film’s dead.” Finally, at 5:10 a.m. in the morning, I get an email from SAG saying, “Sean, this is unprecedented, but the waiver’s forthcoming. You can shoot and good luck.”

AFI: What was the motivation behind making the film and how did you find the right producer in Sean?

Writer/Director/Producer Tracie Laymon: My dad loved movies – he is the reason that I got into film. I thought I would write and direct movies as a way to talk to him and for him to understand the important things I was trying to say. Originally, I had producers, and we didn’t see eye to eye. Sean was there when I was really struggling and said he’d help me find the right team. I thought, how am I going to do this? I’ve never structured financing, gotten a film distributed or made a feature. Everybody needs a champion. I believed in this film so much, and Sean believed in me. Together, we made the film with an incredible team who had my back every step of the way.

AFI: What made you two choose Edgar as a producer and, Edgar, how was it stepping into this role?

Tracie: I interviewed 34 producers in total – and Edgar was number 33. Edgar will fight for what’s right. He understands the importance of representation of minorities and people with disabilities. Every dollar that he spent, I could trust completely that it was what was right for the film and that he understood the film’s values.

Sean: From my perspective, it was not only an incredible interview, but Edgar’s also just an incredible line producer. It’s definitely not my skillset or Tracie’s, so we needed that piece too.

Producer Edgar Rosa: I was really nervous because I had never led a film before. I’d always line produced, I’d production managed, I’d coordinated. I was very honest with Tracie and Sean that it was going be a learning process for me. I’m down to line produce, I’m down to learn, I’m down to get into the weeds. They were very understanding, and it was like a match made in heaven. 

AFI: How did you originally become involved with the project, Anisha? 

Editor Anisha Acharya: Edgar and I were the same year at AFI, but we hadn’t worked together since our cycle film.

Tracie: When the editor on my short, Anita Brandt Burgoyne, decided to retire, she said, “you should meet with Anisha, who’s amazing.” Then separately Edgar said you should really talk to Anisha. I thought, two people I trust are telling me this is the number one? I love Anisha so much. I’m very vulnerable in the editing room, and she is truthful and kind, and I feel like the absolute luckiest director in the world to have gotten to work with her.

Anisha: You were saying to me earlier how you couldn’t find the language to speak about your gratitude. But I want to share the number of times you were thankful to your team, and also you sent lovely messages throughout our process of working together. It really makes it very easy to work really hard on something when people appreciate the work that you’re putting in.

AFI: What was it like to have a Post-Production Supervisor on the film and, Rich, what did your job entail?

Anisha: In post-production, there is so much to keep track of with different post vendors, so it was a huge relief to have Rich on board.

Post-Production Supervisor Rich Song: The Post Supervisor coordinates all the post-production activity and makes sure everything happens on time. I made sure Tracie always had someone in her court. We had a post house in place, but I was the person who checked in with her every day, downloaded all her concerns, what she was most excited to get done each day and then acted on her behalf. That was the way I saw my job – to be her megaphone.

AFI: What did you ultimately learn from the experience and working with Tracie on her feature debut?

Edgar: Flexibility and communication was paramount, especially when you’re trying to find the money and you’ve got to weigh every option. The past feature directors that I’ve worked with never prepped like Tracie prepped and never had the sort of intimacy with the rest of the crew and the cast that I had seen from Tracie. This is a job that we do to pay our bills, but it’s the heart that really turns a film from a job into your passion. A lot of other directors that I’ve worked with treated it more like a job, and with Tracie, it was her literal life.

Anisha: Overall, I think working with people whose tastes match your own and getting along with them is the big lesson. There’s no substitute for it. Your job is to make the movie that the director wants to make, but if your tastes don’t align, I think that makes it a lot harder.

Rich: The movie had 191 individual VFX shots. There were times when I wondered if this batch of 12 shots was necessary. What I learned was, it’s better to give every idea it’s full day in court rather than to second guess it. This was actually my first feature too, after having worked in TV, so I had a learning curve as well.

Sean: Tracie would workshop scenes in her acting class. She shot-listed with her DP, but every scene she had a vision of. She had just done the work. I’ve worked on a bunch of first features, and I think the big takeaway is being prepared and having that vision. And when you have to let something go, it’s about bending, not breaking. It’s about understanding what you can let go of while still keeping the ship afloat.

AFI: What was it like to premiere the film in front of an audience for the first time at SXSW?

Edgar Rosa: It was my first time at SXSW, so I was experiencing everything for the first time. Having 400 people in a theater laughing at the same time, crying at the same time, gasping – it was magical.