On Tuesday, A24 Released a new “First Look” featurette at their upcoming film, Warfare, written and directed by Alex Garland (Civil War) and Ray Mendoza. In it, the cast and crew discuss the importance of the film and the intense production.

At the beginning, Alex Garland discusses the film’s inception. “Ray [Mendoza] and I worked very closely on the film Civil War. Probably about halfway through, we started talking about this film that Ray wanted to make.”

The featurette then goes on to feature Garland and Mendoza discussing the film’s plot, describing the story as “a group of young Seals in Iraq conducting an overwatch mission. In doing so, they came upon contact. They then have to come together to get to safety.” More information is given by the cast and crew, including Will Poulter, who plays one of the seals named Erik, as he discusses the story centering around the relationship between characters Ray and Elliot, played in the film by D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Cosmo Jarvis, respecitively.

Ray Mendoza explains that the film is semi-autobiographical, inspired by his experiences in the Iraq War with fellow veteran Elliot Miller. “Elliot doesn’t recall what had happened,” says Mendoza in the featurette. Actor Charles Melton, who plays one of the Navy Seals, then calls the film “A Love Letter from Ray to Elliot.” Being such a heavy story, Alex Garland explains that he and the cast and crew “felt an immense responsibility,” with Will Poulter calling the film “undoubtedly one of the most important, poignant things we’ll ever do.”

The featurette then goes on to feature behind-the-scenes footage, not only of the production but also of the pre-production training footage of the actors learning how to use the Military equipment that they’ll use in the film. Charles Melton describes this pre-production “boot camp,” saying it “really helped us form this Navy Seal culture leading up to filming.”

The featurette ends with more comments on the film, with the cast and crew describing it as “Tense,” “Fast,” and “Sensory Overload.” Further comments describe how the film features “Real gunfire” and “explosions.” Mendoza ends the featurette with one final comment: “Every veteran has wanted to talk to their loved ones and say, “Hey, this is my experience” or “This is what I’m Feeling.” They’re the reason I made this film.”

Warfare will be released in theaters on April 11th.