The Anton Yelchin documentary Love, Antosha is currently in the middle of a limited theatrical run. In an interview with AwardsDaily.com this week, the film’s director, Garrett Price, talked about his creative process, how having Yelchin’s parents involved was integral to the film, and how his Star Trek co-stars were always going to be a part of the story.

Price explained that he didn’t know Yelchin before he passed away. But, he said, he met Anton through the making of the film. It was actually Drake Doremus, Yelchin’s co-star in the film Like Crazy, who Yelchin’s parents first reached out to, and Doremus referred them to him as an objective voice.

Yelchin’s parents, Irina and Viktor, were, of course, instrumental to the film. Price explained, “I was nervous going in because his parents were involved. I’ve worked on films where estates are involved and it’s a balancing act. Everyone wants to put their loved ones on a pedestal which is totally understandable, but to their credit, they gave me full autonomy to tell their son’s story. [...] We didn’t have to go through the politics of reaching out; they were able to reach out personally, and that’s how we were able to get so many people involved because it came through them. Having them as partners really lent to this working out.”

Love, Antosha is filled with heartfelt interviews, but it also features animation and some of Yelchin’s letters (hence the title). When asked about these unique aspects of the documentary, Price explained, “I never wanted filmmaking to get in the way of Anton’s story. That’s why I love the interviews. We went in with a DP, a light kit and a sound guy. No backdrops and nothing. I think that’s why a lot of the interviews feel so unguarded, authentic and real. [...] The animation is the most stylistic we get in this film. I wanted to bring some energy to this because he was so voracious in his writing. [...] Some things didn’t come naturally to him, but he worked so hard to get there. He just loved the process so much.”

The interviews with friends and family are a centerpiece of Love, Antosha. Some of the interviews include Willem Dafoe, Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence. The film is narrated by Nicolas Cage, who Price quotes as saying, “We’re doing something really important here.” The film also features interviews with several Star Trek alumni, including Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, and J.J. Abrams. When Price was asked how he filtered through all the people he could have interviewed, given Yelchin’s extensive career, he noted that “the Star Trek gang was always going to be a part of it because he spent so much time with them.”

Love, Antosha, a documentary about Anton Yelchin’s life, creative pursuits, and living with cystic fibrosis, is now playing in select theatres across the country; visit antonyelchindoc.com for showtimes and tickets.

This article was written for the podcast Daily Star Trek News.

Alison Pitt is the writer, producer, and host of Daily Star Trek News, on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. A veteran Star Trek podcaster, she started her career on the weekly show Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast in 2015. She has appeared on panels at Star Trek Las Vegas, WonderCon, and San Diego Comic Con.