Megan Park is bridging the age gap and going back in time for her sophomore film.

At the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Chase Sapphire and the Los Angeles Times hosted a panel for Park’s “My Old Ass,” where she was joined by cast members Maisy Stella, Kerrice Brooks and Maddie Ziegler. The coming-of-age comedy follows 18-year-old Elliott (Stella) after she is visited by her future self (Aubrey Plaza), who advises her not to fall in love, while on a trip with her two best friends, Ro (Brooks) and Ruthie (Ziegler). Park said unlike the darker subjects explored in her debut feature “The Fallout,” “My Old Ass” came to fruition by reflecting on her own cherished childhood experiences in Canada.

“I was home in Canada, and I was feeling really nostalgic and thinking about this beautiful place, Muskoka, where I grew up going every summer,” Park said. “I think we all have these fantasies about if you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?”

[Related: Film review: Quietly haunting and eye-opening, ‘Priscilla’ challenges the Presleys’ legacy]

Aligning with the picture’s nostalgia factor, Park said she was able to film the project in the same place that the screenplay was originally inspired by – Lake Muskoka. She described the location as a rustic area north of Toronto, where the cast and crew lived similar to that of a real summer camp, among cottages and boats.

With “My Old Ass” including two actresses portraying the same character at different ages, Park said the casting process first began with Stella. Then, she said she sought an actress that matched Stella in both physicality and, most importantly, aura, which ended in Park choosing Plaza.

Making her feature film debut, Stella said Plaza brought about a supportive and nurturing energy while filming. To ensure the two accurately portrayed the same character, Plaza would analyze Stella’s mannerisms, even going as far as replicating her tattoos on her own body, Stella said. However, she said the fact that both she and Plaza are clearly different people actually aided in elevating the film’s overall plot.

“From 18 to 40, you are going to be quite different, there’s no way around that,” Stella said. “I think that it actually is very endearing how different we are and (how) she’s like the hardened version of Elliott with her wall up a bit more.”

Growing up as an actress, Park said many of her experiences on previous sets shaped her approach to directing and screenwriting. She said over the years, she has interacted with an array of actors with different personalities and directors with distinct styles, which helped her decide what she wanted to bring to her own filmmaking endeavors. One of her priorities was to provide a safe space for younger actors, where fun is encouraged and mistakes are allowed, Park said.

“I also was a young actor that was acting at their age, and I take that role very seriously to protect the environment for young actors on the set, so I’m trying to rewrite history with that,” Park said.

As Ziegler, Brooks and Stella play a friend group, Stella said the bonding process was very minimal since there was an instantaneous connection between the trio. While Stella and Ziegler knew each other for years prior, the addition of Brooks felt natural, with each person bringing their own contrasting disposition that created a well-balanced group, Stella said.

[Related: ‘Femcel Filmcast’ mixes film analysis and feminist theory]

In characterizing Gen Z, Park said she would constantly check in with Stella, Ziegler and Brooks regarding the authenticity of the language of the script for teenagers in today’s landscape. However, Stella said there were minimal dialogue changes during filming as Park correctly captured the balance and nuances of the adolescent voice.

“I feel like I watch a lot of movies where it’s super trendy or you watch it a year later and all the things that you saw, that’s not happening anymore. Those trends have passed,” Stella said. “You (Park) always stay out of the super trendy things that will go away.”

When asked how filming differed from actually watching the movie, Ziegler said it was an entirely different experience, having not seen many of the scenes in the final cut. Feeling an affinity for films that strike a conversation, she said “My Old Ass” immediately engages viewers and spurs a plethora of emotions upon leaving the theater. Brooks echoed this sentiment, stating from an audience member’s perspective, the movie continues to resonate with her.

“When watching the movie, … it’s so cool to see such a range of characters just coexist in the same world and just have fun,” Brooks said. “It’s such a good reminder to me that you are going to be alright no matter how much you stress and no matter how much you try to hold tight to things – things are going to happen regardless so just breathe.”