The film was originally ordered by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. During research Roy Andersson came across the theory that the AIDS virus had been created in American laboratories which he chose to present in the film as a fact. This caused the National Board of Health and Welfare to withdrew support for the film and Andersson finished the film on his own. The theory Andersson had accepted as a fact was later exposed as part of Operation INFEKTION - a joint KGB/Stasi-disinformation campaign to discredit the United States.