Director and co-producer Havana Marking received funding from the Channel 4 BritDoc Foundation (now known as Doc Society) on the basis of her idea for the film.

After spending a month gathering footage for a taster tape and planning the project, the documentary was commissioned by British channel More4.

Filming primarily took place in Kabul, where the competition for Afghan Star is held and the show is produced, but also features the cities of Herat and Kandahar when documenting the stories of Setara and Lema, two of the competitors.

Marking notes the mounting tensions and unpredictability of her own situation in the filming process in an interview, stating that while she wasn't threatened directly, a "general protocol had to be followed.

The show's director and host Daoud Sediqi explains that it provides an opportunity for Afghans to enjoy music again after the Taliban's ban.

The show is popular among ordinary Afghan people and fans vote for their favorite contestants even across ethnic lines.

After Daoud Sediqi decides to air the footage, there is outrage in the conservative Muslim community and Setara receives death threats and is evicted from her apartment.

Holden praised the film for the way in which it explores modern Afghan culture through the "prism" of its four protagonists and their own personal struggles.