Boston University graduate student Jeff Stern chose a rest area approximately 10 miles west of Topeka off Interstate 70 to shoot a film about chance meetings in public places.

Stern, an Ohio native, began shooting the film, “Rest Area,” Wednesday. When the project is finished, he will have completed his master’s degree in film.

Stern said the script he wrote is more about the setting of the film than the characters.

“I’ve always been almost obsessed with rest areas and places like them,” he said. “It is rarer and rarer that places just exist for the public. I wanted to explore that idea.”

Stern said when he was writing the script on the East Coast he chose Kansas for the setting because it was in the middle of the country and he wanted to represent middle America. When he arrived in Kansas to conduct auditions in May, Stern said he knew he had found the perfect location for his film.

“Kansas is really beautiful, I think,” Stern said. “The rest area is actually better than I imagined it.”

Stern’s script revolves around 23 characters who come into contact with each other at the rest area. The characters range from a disgruntled family of five to a man who represents Jesus Christ to George W. Bush.

Joanna Jefferson, the film’s producer and also a Boston University graduate student, said the film really doesn’t have a main character.

“It’s a true ensemble cast,” she said.

Stern and several members of his crew held auditions for the film in mid-May in Kansas City, Mo. From 40 auditions, they chose most of the 23 actors.

Ty Jones, a 30-year-old filmmaker from Winnebago, Mo., plays the part of a father in the film.

“I think it’s really great what (Stern is) doing,” Jones said as he waited to begin acting a lunch scene. “It’s students getting together and going on a trip and filming. That’s what filmmaking is all about: collaborating efforts and trading jobs to learn.”

The actress playing Jones’ wife, Jill Benson of Bonner Springs, agreed that the crew members were performing their jobs well.

“It’s very nicely organized,” she said. “The script is very well-written.”

Stern said he must be organized to make a film on the $10,000 to $12,000 budget. He is financing the 20-minute film with student loans.

Stern said he expects to be pleased with the final product because of the actors and the way filming has gone.

“There are so many factors, and most, like the weather, have gone better than I expected,” Stern said.

Stern expects to wrap up the film today. When it is edited, Jefferson said they will enter it in numerous film festivals.

“I’d love to see big things for the film in the future,” she said. “I think it’s a good place for Jeff to start his career.”