Official submission of Singapore for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.
As his next movie, Drift (2023), got delayed, Anthony Chen decided to focus on a project centered around young Chinese people. As a fan of Jules e Jim - Uma Mulher para Dois (1962), he wanted to explore a love triangle, but not a classic one with two men both in love of the same woman; he wanted something more complex and ambiguous. The script was written in a few days while he was stuck in a hotel room in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shooting took place around the Changbai Mountains in China, near the North Korean border, and lasted 38 days. Some scenes were filmed in freezing temperatures, reaching -18°C (i.e. 0°F). Because it is illegal to film the actual border and sex scenes are forbidden in Chinese movies, Anthony Chen had to creatively work around these issues.
The Chinese title, Rán dong, means "The Burning Winter" or "The Scorching Winter" in English.
The movie was selected in Un Certain Regard section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.