This movie is the first of a trilogy by director Per Fly, the other two being "Arven" and "Drabet", dealing with Danish lower, middle and upper class respectively.
Director Per Fly originally came up with the idea of making the film after reading an article by the leader of charity organization Kirkens Korshær about poverty and social problems in Denmark. As part of his later research he intensely followed the work of a social counselor for some time. He based the film's characters on the people he saw and met during that period.
Jesper Christensen spent time with real-life destitute persons in order to prepare for his role.