This movie was banned in Laos. Even though the production crew were closely supervised by Lao government minders and the script was carefully vetted by government censors, certain scenes and dialogue were deemed "too sensitive" for release to the Lao people post production. Some examples are the display of communities being forced from their traditional homes by the flooding of valleys for hydro electric schemes and the comments about the country producing electricity for export whilst an insufficient supply is allowed for domestic consumption.
The film was conceived by an Australian film crew making a 2007 documentary called Bomb Harvest about Australians helping clear unexploded bombs in Laos. This is explained in a 'Making of' documentary included with the DVD of this film.
Official submission of Australia to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category.