The film focuses on František Kriegel, the only political leader who, during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, declined to sign the Moscow Protocol.

[4] First preparations started in 2016 when Ivan Fíla was approached by producer Miloš Šmídmajer with idea to make a film about Kriegel.

Fíla agreed and has written a book The man who stood in the way.

[6] Production was later stalled due to conflicts between Fila and Šmídmajer.

[1] In February 2020 Šmídmajer decided to replace Fíla with different director.