"Darah dan Doa" was directed by Usmar Ismail, a former soldier who had previously served as assistant director on Andjar Asmara's "Gadis Desa" ("Village Maiden") and directed two films on his own, "Tjitra" ("Image") and "Harta Karun" ("Treasure"; all 1949). Creative control for these works, all of which were produced for the Dutch-sponsored South Pacific Film Corporation (SPFC), was held by cameraman A.A. Denninghoff-Stelling; Ismail served more as a dialogue coach. When the Netherlands recognised Indonesia's independence following several months of conferences in 1949, Ismail and other SPFC staff discussed establishing their own studio, though steps were not taken to do so until the following year. For his first production, Ismail chose to adapt a short story by the poet Sitor Situmorang, which the latter man had brought to him; Ismail later wrote that he considered it interesting because it "honestly told the story of a man without descending into cheap propaganda".