For several years the filmmakers attempted to secure permission to film in North Korea, but were ultimately denied access.
Samsara (a Sanskrit word literally meaning "continuous flow") is the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth (reincarnation) within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön and Jainism. In Sikhism this concept is slightly different and looks at our actions in the present and consequences in the present.
According to the filmmakers, composer Michael Stearns created his original score after the film had been "silently edited" by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson. This is different from their previous collaboration on Baraka (1992) where visuals were largely edited to a soundtrack.
The first feature-length film since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996) to be shot entirely on 65mm film.