The first in an intended trilogy of films following Maggie and her cult. Though well-received, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij have said they do not know if the subsequent films will ever be produced.
Originally intended as an ongoing web series, that's why the film is broken up in the parts. The filmmakers decided to release what was filmed as a feature film and make more films to form a trilogy.
Director Zal Batmanglj said the budget was so low they couldn't afford an iMac computer to do the editing. So they bought one and returned it every 13 days so they could get their money back. Then they'd buy one from another store and return it within the two-week period. They did that three times.
When Brit Marling was asked during an interview what would she ask someone from the future, she said, "Is it dangerous? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if a WWI soldier was crossing no man's land and suddenly ran into an iPod. He wouldn't be able to conceive how that music could be contained on it. He'd think it was a device from an alien culture. What would the glow of that screen mean to him? And it wasn't that long ago. Technology is moving so quickly, so it is hard to imagine what the world will be like five years from now, let alone three decades."