Beyond the main cast, most of the actors in the film were ethnic Hutsuls from the local villages where the film was made.
For decades it has been believed that "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" won the British Academy Award. This was most notably stated in the famous "Film Encyclopedia" by Ephraim Katz. Recently, however, the disciple of Sergei Parajanov, Martiros Vartanov, the Parajanov-Vartanov Institute founder, obtained on official confirmation from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), which stated that the movie was not a BAFTA award recipient. The film won the Grand Prix at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival and a record number of other awards on the festival circuit.
Used 180 degrees lens.
This film was made for the centenary of the birth of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, who wrote the book this movie is based on.