Director and writer Lenka Hellstedt says that two main themes interested her in the book from author Riikka Ala-Harja: adoption, since Hellstedt is an adoptive mother herself, and wanderlust, since Hellstedt had never lived abroad, even though she had similar plans as the main character Ida in the film.
Hellstedt worked on the script for several years and during that time she directed episodes for different television series. The tenth draft of the screenplay was filmed. Actor Matti Ristinen already read different drafts well before the filming started and was also part of the casting process. Amira Khalifa sent an e-mail to Hellstedt already in 2004 and was the first actress whom Hellstedt spoke to about the role of Ida. A few years later Khalifa was called to audition and got the part.