The film was based on the story of Colin Simpson, a Vietnam veteran who had died while trying to claim money from the Repatriation Department. He believed his illness was caused by
Agent Orange. Simpson lived in a street in Whalen, a suburb in Western Sydney, where a number of people had health issues. All the sufferers were Vietnam veterans or children of Vietnam veterans brought together on the street by the Housing Commission. Bennett says he did not really consider the movie an anti-war statement: I really saw it as being about the blindness of authorities to accept culpability. To that extent, I suppose, it is an anti-war film, but it was more to do with anti-bureaucracy and a very, very strong sense of injustice, that ultimately what was at work here was the possibility that, if a precedent was established, then huge amounts of money would have to be paid out. The film was shot primarily in the suburbs of Western Sydney and in the
Whalan street where Simpson and his family had lived. Simpson’s real house (in which the widowed Mrs Simpson was still residing) was used for exterior shots while an adjacent home was used for interior scenes. The family who owned the property were paid to temporarily vacate the premises for the duration of the shoot, which took four weeks. Bennett's wife Jennifer played Judy Simpson. Bennett recalled, "When I think back on it now, I really didn’t know first thing about filmmaking – I did it all on instinct." ==Release==