The film's director, himself an IDF veteran who was stationed in Lebanon during the first Lebanon war, uses the stone walls of Beaufort castle as a symbol of the futility and endlessness of war. The film was shot during the spring of 2006 at Nimrod Fortress, a similar mountaintop fort in the Golan Heights. Cedar said he was influenced by the film "Das Boot", and the World War I "bunker films", when creating the tunnels and mazes of the Beaufort. He also said that "Paths of Glory" was a heavy influence, specifically on the bomb-disarming mission scene. Useful historical information for understanding the movie can be found in the article on the original capture of Beaufort in 1982 by the Israeli army.