What happens after the time you spent serving your country? What if the ashes of a fallen comrade are put in your hands, with an ambitious mission now resting on your shoulders? Such ideas are explored in a powerful new drama from director/producer/co-star Nikki Mejia. AFI FEST recently concluded in Hollywood, and Mejia told us about how she once studied at the conservatory, thereby paving the way for her acclaimed new feature. A Place in the Field follows Gio, a war veteran who travels cross-country in honor of his deceased brother-in-arms.

PTSD, car trouble, and more delay Gio’s ultimate goal of burying his friend’s ashes — but everything happens for a reason, as they say. We recently caught up with Mejia to learn more about A Place in the Field, which was produced in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Tackling Trauma and PTSD’

Film is all about collaboration, and A Place in the Field is no different. Mejia was able to bring her new debut feature to life thanks to her past work with co-writer and star Don DiPetta, who plays the main character Gio. “Don and I have been working together and known each other for like eight years,” Mejia told us. “So I’ve seen a lot of growth in him as a human. And he’s seen a lot of growth in me in tackling trauma and PTSD. And so when he was writing this film with Khorri Ellis and Bluesmon Del Vecchio, they presented it to me, and I feel like I saw what they were trying to do. It was like, ‘Okay, we’re trying to show men in a different light.'”

Mejia detailed just how she helped in bringing about this “different” light in her story about two men, Gio and his pal, on a sort of spiritual journey in honor of a fallen friend. “We’re trying to give them, I don’t wanna say sensitivity, but more of an openness and a gentle side, like the feminine side. Where I felt like it was lacking was in the female roles,” explained Meija. “I helped him develop those scenes with the female characters, and I’m really proud of them because, even though they’re not the focal point, they are the ones, step by step, that have shepherded [Gio] into each next step in his journey. And I thought it was really important. You sometimes think all these little roles aren’t as important, but no, they can be the key into affecting your protagonists into going for the change in their lives.”

Related: The Best Military Movies, Ranked

It’s interesting to note that A Place in the Field is a product of pandemic regulations, since it’s a relatively smaller production, taking place mostly outdoors, that could be pulled off amid the lockdown restrictions that were once in place. “I don’t think we fully understood the scope of what we’re trying to do,” said Mejia in discussing how it all started. “We’re just like, ‘Let’s go to New Mexico, and let’s do it.’ And then it was like, ‘Oh, it’s a lot of work.’ And feeding people during the pandemic, we shot this when people were still cleaning their food. So we had a PA go get it delivered, and then she would be cleaning everything else. Like, ‘What is this world?'”

An American Film Institute graduate, Mejia undoubtedly has a bright Hollywood future ahead of her. She discussed how her film school experience helped fuel her ambition to bring A Place in the Field to life. “I was at AFI making short films right before, and this was my first feature,” she said, adding:

“And when your first feature is in the pandemic, you don’t know any better. So it sets the new precedent. For me, I’m like, ‘I could do anything during the pandemic.’ And everyone’s like, ‘How did you do that?’ So in a way, it’s kind of cool [for this film to be my] introduction, because you don’t have those limitations, you know?”

Shooting at a Horse Therapy Ranch
Lionsgate

In addition to producing and directing, Mejia plays a small role in her first feature as well, playing Pavla, who Gio meets along the way in A Place in the Field. She opens up to him about their ancestors who once occupied the desert terrain they now occupy and is instrumental in fostering Gio’s growth as an individual. “Her screen time is really strong,” she said. “I was like, ‘How do you create the destruction that they’re talking about, the feeling of the loss of the land, the feeling of the slaughtering of the Native community, and that we took this land?'” She elaborated:

“I think that is one of the themes in the entirety of the film: Is your life worth giving, and what are you giving your life for? We continue to perpetuate a cycle of war and trauma upon many communities that are then left to heal, so it’s not just the veterans that are healing, it’s the people in the community. So that’s kind of what Pavla’s little role in the film was.”

Related: The 30 Best War Movies of All Time, Ranked

There are a plethora of impactful moments in A Place in the Field, and looking back on her debut feature, Mejia spoke about one of her favorite moments: “I love the horse scene. People don’t realize how challenging it was. We went to this horse therapy ranch. And traditionally, as a selfish human, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to see these horses, and they’re going to heal me.’ And the owners of the ranch were like, ‘No. Actually, you’re here to heal the horse.'”

And once you look at it in that way, it changed the dynamic, because we had to go two days. The first day, the horse was rambunctious, let’s say. And you have to be at peace with yourself in order to be around the horses in such a calm state.

“And this is like a huge testament to Don DiPetta’s personality, because the fact that he was acting and producing and writing and doing all these things, and he was able to still ground himself in that moment, to calm the horse.”

That’s kind of what the film is all about, though, isn’t it? Calming the horse. From Lionsgate, A Place in the Field arrives in theaters November 10, and on demand and digital November 18.