Director Mohammad Rasoulof was originally scheduled to take part in the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a jury member of the Un Certain Regard section. However, he was arrested in July 2022 after criticising the government's crackdown on protestors in the southwestern city of Abadan in Iran over deadly building collapse. On May 8, 2024, Rasouloff's lawyer announced that he has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property. On May 12, 2024, Rasouloff announced that he managed to flee Iran and was staying at an undisclosed location in Europe. On May 24, 2024, Rasouloff attended the film's premiere in Cannes and on the red carpet he held up photos of two of the film's actors, Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh.
Casting for the movie was complicated, as the number of people involved in the project had to be kept to a minimum to not arouse the suspicion of the Iranian regime, so they had to assess each actor on an artistic level as well as on a political level. For the parents, they chose Soheila Golestani, whose public stance for the pro-woman movement was well known, and Missagh Zareh, who had already worked with Mohammad Rasoulof on Lerd (2017). For the daughters, they couldn't choose teenagers, as they wanted actresses who would be fully aware of the consequences of taking a part of this movie, and who would be mature enough to handle the tactics used by the Iranian regime to pressure people. In the end, they chose two older actresses, Mahsa Rostami and Setareh Maleki, who were still very credible as teenagers.
The film was shot almost entirely in secret, produced with financing from multiple companies in France and Germany.
Official submission of Germany for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 97th Academy Awards in 2025.
When the Mahsa Amini protests started in Iran in late 2022, Mohammad Rasoulof was still in prison, and so he was following the movement from inside the prison, along with other political prisoners. He was particularly struck by the admission of guilt of a prison guard, who hated his job and couldn't bear it anymore.