Star Wars: Behind the Saber was one of over 500 film submissions from all over the world. It was chosen as a Top 25 finalist by the Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards sponsored by Disney and Lucasfilm. These 25 films were nominated for the Audience Choice Award and played on StarWars.com for the month of June 2016. The category winners were announced in July 2016.
Behind the Saber was one of the few comedy entries in the contest and was proud to be nominated for Audience Choice Award.
For the contest, Director Zack Abramowitz had to cut down his half-scripted half-improvised mockumentary to 5 minutes, which was the max time limit for entries. When the contest was over, he released a 30-minute Director's Cut, adding all the deleted scenes back in and extending some sequences so all the actors could shine. Both versions are available on YouTube.
Theik Smith, who plays the fight coordinator in the film, is actually a fight coordinator and stunt man for film in real life. He has worked with Zack on other projects, and Zack approached him this time to improvise as himself, as an actor. Theik jumped at the opportunity.
When Erica arrives on set to play the Jedi Apprentice, she brings her son along to be part of the film. This is actually her son in real life.