Trivia

The music for this film is performed by Archie Roach, a popular aboriginal country musician.

During pre-production writer-director-producer Rolf de Heer explained that he had become increasingly concerned about "the nature of screen violence, and what it does to us". He was considering alternative ways of depicting violence when renowned Australian landscape artist Peter Coad came to visit. "I looked at Peter and thought, 'Here we go, that's what we're going to do, deal with the violence with paintings'," de Heer said.

The neck chains were made for the film by a modern-day blacksmith who specialized in theatrical props but director Rolf de Heer was concerned about the discomfort both actors David Gulpilil and Gary Sweet might experience wearing them. "When David tried one on we shook our heads in a collective and belated 'sorry'," de Heer said.

Director Rolf de Heer said that the extras were chained together around the neck "as was the custom in those days". But that they stood patiently, "a grim reminder about how we used to do things, even in my lifetime," he said. "I think the extras themselves understood what they were doing better than any of us could have explained it to them... they stood, captive in chains, and simply maintained their dignity," de Heer said.

The lead characters in this film have no personal names and in the film's credits the character names are billed as their roles and characters i.e. The Tracker, The Follower, The Fugitive, The Fanatic, The Veteran.