Over a period of one day and two very long nights, the Wynkoop brothers, Andrew and Chris, along with their cast and crew, filmed on location in the cities of Petaluma and Rohnert Park in Sonoma County and the city of Novato in Marin County in Northern California. The production commenced in the summer and concluded in the fall of 2017. The initial filming occurred from Friday night, starting at approximately 8 p.m. (Pacific), to sunrise Saturday morning and from Saturday mid-morning to mid-afternoon, September 1st and 2nd, 2017. At the end of this long night's journey into day, director Andrew Wynkoop treated his cast and crew to a late lunch at Amy's, a drive thru and sit-down restaurant in Rohnert Park that serves handcrafted organic, vegan, and vegetarian food to nourish hard-working citizens, busy families, and road-weary travelers, not to mention exhausted filmmakers and actors. Following a one-month delay due to scheduling conflicts, the third and final "day" of shooting took place from Sunday night, starting at approximately 8 p.m. (Pacific), to past midnight early Monday morning, October 1st and 2nd, 2017. During filming on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, the temperature in Petaluma, Calif. hit a record 107 degrees Fahrenheit. "It was a hellish shoot," said Andrew Wynkoop, the director. "I must say that the project was an exhaustive epic that I shall never forget. Everyone was so dedicated and had a great amount of true grit. I think it was a testament to the film. Our blood, sweat, and tears bled through. We persevered like the great John Wayne." The film wrapped about a week before the catastrophic Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, engulfed the North Bay area including the city of Santa Rosa, 18.2 miles from Petaluma via US-101 North.
Three members of the cast and crew are vegans, Andrew Wynkoop, Chris Wynkoop, and Steve Dakota.
During the deleted night scene with Tom, aka Dad, and Théresè, Steve Dakota drove his own car, a 2011 classic silver metallic Camry LE with a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, aka The Silver Bullet, and performed his own stunt driving. This is the same vehicle he drove on Court Street in Martinez, California in the Netflix TV Series 13 Reasons Why, Season 2, Episode 4, The Second Polaroid.
Director Andrew Wynkoop originally cast Steve Dakota as the Priest and another actor as Tom (aka Dad). During rehearsals, the other actor was released from the production. Subsequently, Wynkoop recast Dakota as Tom (aka Dad) and cast Phillip Caires as the Priest. "Phillip was quite a nice fit for the priest I must say," said Wynkoop who was asked if he thought about how his film would have turned out if he kept Dakota as the Priest and the other actor as Tom (aka Dad). "To be quite honest I haven't yet. But come to think of it, it would've been a lot less powerful. The other actor did not have the same screen presence as Steve who portrays power in a silent and poised manner. An early focus viewing session left many members of the audience and the Wynkoop family saying Steve Dakota was a powerful presence on the camera. And they also liked his chemistry and carefree nature with the Mistress, played by the lovely Paula Bradman."
From his residence near Sacramento to the base camp in Petaluma, California, Steve Dakota drove 91.7 miles one way or 183.4 miles round trip, further than any other member of the cast and crew.