Joanna Hogg wrote the script based on her real-life experiences while attending film school in London in the early '80s.
Tilda Swinton and Hogg have been friends since they were ten years old, and Swinton witnessed Hogg's relationship at the time. All actors read the script except for
Honor Swinton Byrne. Director
Joanna Hogg gave her instead her diaries from the early '80s, notes, photographs, and old scripts and films she wrote and made at that time. She was told to improvise every scene, while the rest of the cast had scripts but were still told to react to her as well as they could. Hogg also gave
Tom Burke old letters, recordings, and drawings from the man his character is based on.
