The film was directed by Mehdi Jafari and sponsored by Owj Arts and Media Organization in Tehran.

Yusefzadeh said, “We were absolutely thrilled with this movie.... By watching the film, we didn’t know whether to cry or to be happy, because everything was very real in the film.”[1] 23 People is an adaptation of the memoirs of the 23 young Iranian prisoners who were captured by Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq war in 1982.

A film based on the events and Ahmad Yousefzadeh's book, 23 People, was released in 2019.

It was produced by Mehdi Jafari and sponsored by Owj Arts and Media Organization in Tehran.

In October 2018, General Qasem Soleimani attended production of the film and met with members of the cast and crew on location in Iran's capital.