Filming began in Berlin, Germany, and eventually moved to Melbourne, Australia, where Teresa Palmer finished her scenes. Immediately after, she began filming on Hasta el último hombre (Hacksaw Ridge) (2016) in Sydney, Australia.
The Melbourne production design team and art department recreated Andi's apartment on a Docklands sound stage based on the original apartment in Berlin. The majority of scenes in the apartment were shot on that set in Melbourne. The set had working water, gas, and electricity plus a fake wall and greenscreens for the neighbouring building.
Teresa Palmer described her participation on the project as "one of the most transformational experiences" of her life, as well as "the most liberating film experience" of her career.
Melanie Joosten's novel marked her debut novel and won her the 'Kathleen Mitchell Award for Young Writers' and she was as one of the 'Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist 2012'. Melbourne-raised Joosten visited Berlin herself for the first time when she was backpacking Europe at the age of 22.
The apartment that Clare is trapped in is based on a real one, in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood of Berlin. Director Cate Shortland: "It was a 50- or 60-apartment building with [only] about eight apartments occupied. But all of our young people are flocking there. It's kind of a beautiful idea, wanting to get out and explore, and hoping the artistic and cultural dynamic of the city will rub off on you. It's a place with a lot of community feeling, but in winter it's also an incredibly monstrous, grey, miserable place." [The Guardian. June 2017]