Shot with a Sony a7s II, a small Ultra-HD camera with strong low-light performance. [CNN Philippines, Sept. 2016]
Lav Diaz was inspired by the Lev Tolstoy story "God Sees the Truth, But Waits", first published in 1872. Diaz then wrote the treatment for The Woman Who Left (2016) in two days and sent it to lead actress Charo Santos-Concio and the film's producer, Ronald Arguelles. An hour after he sent the email, Concio said yes. [CNN Philippines, Sept. 2016]
The film was primarily shot in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines which is the hometown of lead actress, Charo Santos-Concio. The film had 10 shooting days in Calapan. Six additional sequences were shot in an upscale subdivision called Town and Country Heights in Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines. [CNN Philippines, Sept. 2016]