Real-life sisters, Ava Kolker and Lexy Kolker acted side by side for the first time, playing unrelated characters Lana Danik and Riley Hayes, respectively.
According to Lexy Kolker, who played 10-year old Riley Hayes, "Manifest West was actually the first film to get the clearance from SAG to film after COVID, so it was filmed in Forest Falls [CA] in June of 2020 with a very small crew and kept it super safe, mostly outdoors and in the house".
Playing sisters Riley and Mary in the movie, Lexy Kolker and Madison Friedman grew up together as family friends. Lexy said of Madison, "...she is like my little sister in real life. We've grown up together and their family is like our family".