Almost every scene, according to Guillermo Rosas, was photographed with a chocolate-colored filter on the camera lens. This contributed a great deal to the distinctive colors and textures in the film, especially the skin tones, and the vibrancy in green hues.
Set in Cuba, the film was made entirely in Mexico, with Veracruz doubling as Havana. Julian Schnabel said the crew was so pleasant to work with, that if he was making a film in the arctic, he would use a Mexican crew.
Director Julian Schnabel's wife plays Javier Bardem's mother. All of Schnabel's children have bit roles as well.
Javier Bardem's first English-speaking role. Before Night Falls is his international film debut, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. It was reported he spent a month and a half in New York City studying two hours a day Reinaldo Arenas' mannerisms, how he walked and talked, with Arenas' best friend Lazaro Gomez Carriles.
Marlon Brando and Al Pacino were offered the role of great Cuban man of letters Lezama Lima. The part was finally played by a friend of Julian Schnabel, who was the Global Art Executive of the David Rockefeller-founded Chase Bank Art Collection.