The locations of this movie spreads in Cotiporã, Veranópolis, Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi, Farroupilha, Monte Belo do Sul and Santa Tereza, cities in the mountainous region of Rio Grande do Sul, in the South of Brazil.
The scene in which the 8-year-old Tony learns to ride a bike with his father's help was real. The child actor Gabriel Reginato was riding a bike for the first time and Vincent Cassel's reaction to seeing the boy succeed was authentic.
The story takes place in Remanso, a fictional little city in Rio Grande do Sul's countryside, in 1962.
The film is based on the 2010 novel "Un Padre de Película", by the Chilean author Antonio Skármeta. The author plays the character Esteban Coppeta on the film adaptation.
This movie is the third collaboration between Selton Mello and cinematographer Walter Carvalho. They worked together in To the Left of the Father (2001) and A Erva do Rato (2008).