The Sapphires is about four Yorta Yorta (Aboriginal Australian) women: Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Kay (Shari Sebbens), and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell); who are discovered by a talent scout (Chris O'Dowd), form a music group named The Sapphires, and travel to Vietnam in 1968 to sing for troops during the war.

Advised by their grandmother, they meet up with their cousin Kay, who had been living in Melbourne for 10 years after the government took her from her family because she was half-white (as part of the policy now referred to as Stolen Generations).

The Sapphires are a success with the crowds, but infighting among the women threatens to tear the group apart: Gail acts as the group's overbearing matriarch; Cynthia begins a relationship with a member of their military escort in the aftermath of her break-up; Kay struggles with her multi-ethnic identity while being courted by an Army medic; and Julie has difficulty processing the reality of war.

The women are asked to perform that evening following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., with Gail singing lead in the aftermath of her loss.

[5][6] When they were invited to Vietnam to perform for the troops, Briggs and Mayers declined, as they were against the war, so Robinson enlisted her sister Lois Peeler to join her.

[4][7] It was this Māori band who introduced them to soul music; the character of Dave Lovelace, portrayed in the film by Chris O'Dowd, did not exist.

[8] Tony Briggs said in an interview in The Age in 2004 that he found it "liberating as a writer to expand the number of characters", as it gave the story "richer dynamics".

[4] Based on Tony Briggs' 2004 play of the same name commissioned by and debuted at Melbourne Theatre Company, the film was first announced in June 2010.

[11] On 2 June 2010, a press release announced that an open casting call had begun for The Sapphires, and that Goalpost Pictures Australia were searching for "four young Indigenous women, aged 16–28, to play the leading roles of the four members of [the title singing group]".

[12] Australian singer Casey Donovan, who had starred as Cynthia McCrae in the musical's 2010 production, auditioned for that part, but was unsuccessful, with the role instead going to newcomer Miranda Tapsell.

[14][15][16] In August 2011, the roles of all four group members were officially announced, when another newcomer, Shari Sebbens, joined the cast as Kay McCrae.

The artwork placed actor Chris O'Dowd prominently in the foreground, with the four female stars appearing in the background and coloured with a blue wash.

[42] The Sapphires received positive reviews from Cannes, dubbed as the Australian version of Dreamgirls (2006), another film based on a play about a '60s girl group.

[46] Guy Lodge from Variety said Chris O'Dowd's " dorky-dirty and manic performance energy... keeps the proceedings bouncy even when the script loses its own fizz.

"[51] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the "workaday Australian comedy" three stars, calling it "uncomplicated" but praising Chris O'Dowd for elevating every scene he is in.

"[53] Fiona Williams of SBS awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting that "There's much to love, lots to like... and enough roof-lifting musical numbers to make up for the dodgy bits.

Their song choices are an assertion of Indigenous sovereignty and Starrs argues that the Aboriginal Australian "Welcome to Country" is twice subverted to reinforce this theme, firstly in the Cummeragunja pub and secondly in war-torn Vietnam.