According to some reports, the women were filmed individually in Kiarostami's living room, with the director asking them to cast their gaze at a mere series of dots above the camera.
The director stated that, during the filming process, he had no idea what film they were watching, and settled on the Khosrow and Shirin myth only after shooting had concluded.
In Taste of Shirin (2008, 27 minutes), a documentary by Hamideh Razavi on the making of the film, one can see how the film really was shot.
The brief appearance of Juliette Binoche in the film came as a coincidence. She was visiting Kiarostami and Iran as a guest during Shirin's project and she became interested to participate in the project.
The brief appearance of Juliette Binoche in the film came as the result of her role in another Kiarostami project.