SANDPOINT — In the back of a Coeur d’Alene coffee shop, Caden and Rylan Butera were discussing ideas to build their first feature film around when one caught both of their attention.

What if you could delete the memories that cause you pain?  

“That was a concept that we thought was really interesting and invited a lot of questions and conversations about the human experience,” Rylan Butera said. “Then we worked in the sensibilities. We like a little bit of action and hand-to-hand combat and the mystery of an evil corporation. And that's kind of where we landed.” 

Where the brothers landed, nearly four years later, is called “Recollection.” A feature film filmed across North Idaho and Eastern Washington, that strikes at the core of trauma, growth and resilience through a dystopian world. 

While neither brother can remember who had the initial idea, Caden Butera said he thinks it was far from an accident. Raised by a mental health therapist mother, Jackie Butera, and sci-fi fan father, Mark Butera, the idea felt like a natural meeting of those two minds, Caden Butera said. 

Both parents served as producers on the film, helping support the two through their biggest endeavor yet. Caden Butera said they had a very support team of local individuals who battled through a grueling 27-day shoot. 

“Having people like that, having amazing assistant directors, like, if one person slacks on their job, to put it dramatically, the whole thing can fall apart,” Butera said. “Basically, 27 days is how long it's going to take to shoot and that's why you spend months and months ahead of time setting yourself up for success, knowing that things are going to go wrong regardless.” 

The preparation required prior to shooting was a massive undertaking, Butera said. Determined to keep everything local to their home region, they worked alongside local artist Kathleen Swanson to turn abandoned retail space into futuristic hideouts and server rooms. 

"A lot of this film involves tech and a fictitious company that doesn't exist, [so] what does their logo look like? What is their color scheme, all those fun things that you don't really think about,” Butera said. “It was a fun process creating, creating a world that more or less doesn't exist from scratch. Yeah, and that's one of my favorite parts of the process.” 

The film features Rosslyn Luke, who has appeared in the Apple TV original “Shrinking” and FOX sitcom “The Rookie,” as the lead character Kate Parker. Alongside Luke, three-time Golden Globe nominee Eric Roberts and Cesar Garcia, who viewers may recognize from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” 

When crafting the characters in the film, the Butera brothers said they wanted each one to play on the idea of deleting memories. They built the story around Kate, a woman obsessed with deleting her painful memories, working in challenges, action and times of calm to keep the pace flowing. 

“We always like to start with the theme first and have the theme be personified within the characters,” Caden Butera said. “We don't want anyone walking around as preachy vessels of our moral question, but have that be the underlying driving force.”  

In addition to the main characters and popular actors, Rylan Butera said long-time residents with a keen eye will be able to spot around 20 Sandpoint residents who make appearances in the film. 

“Recollection” is set to come to streaming services this spring, but the Butera brothers encouraged residents to see the film in theaters for the communal experience. Rylan Butera said he watches every theater showing for the audience’s reaction to the emotional beats of the movie. 

“I've only seen this movie 47,000 times, and I love it. It gets better every time,” Rylan Butera joked. “It's cool to see that many people get into a room and watch the movie that we spend so much time on, and you get the occasional gasp from the audience and the occasional tear that you can hear. Those moments are really special.” 

The film has only been shown in festivals throughout the United States, earning several awards along the way. It comes to Sandpoint’s Panida Theater on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with the Butera brothers.  

Tickets are $15 and can be found at panida.org/event/recollection or purchased at the door. 

    Rosslyn Luke, playing the lead character Kate Parker, lies down in this still from "Recollection."
  

    Falk Hentschel, as Teddy, sits in a bedroom in the film "Recollection."
  

    Rosslyn Luke, as Kate Parker, walks through a server room in "Recollection." The Butera brothers built the server room from scratch out of wood and lights in an abandoned retail space in Coeur d'Alene.