The shoot took over a year to complete in and near the deserted village of Kätkäjärvi, which was located roughly eight miles from the nearest real road in Kittilä. Although the village was accessible by off-road vehicle during warmer months and by horse-drawn sleigh in the winter, the crew mostly walked to the location. The crew had no real electricity so generators were used for power.
Mollberg and Rajala met the original author Timo K. Mukka in his home in Pello, Finnish Lapland, when they were still preparing the screenplay. The eccentric author was reserved at first but eventually got along with Mollberg. In the autumn of 1972 Mukka also visited in the village of Kätkäjärvi, Kittilä, where the film was shot on location. He died roughly six months later and never saw the finished film (he saw only excerpts).
The real life calf was butchered during the scene where a man is trying to save a life of a cow during calving. This was part of the raw naturalism that director Mollberg wanted to bring to the screen. Art director Ensio Suominen later stated that "Mollberg has the aesthetic of a butcher".
Director Mollberg met the 19-year-old ship waitress Maritta Viitamäki in the Port of Mikkeli. Viitamäki needed parental permission by law to be part of the film since she was underage (the age of majority in Finland at the time was twenty years of age). Her parents were concerned since the role of Martta Mäkelä included several scenes of nudity. Author Timo K. Mukka was also 19-year-old when his debut novel "Maa on syntinen laulu" was released.
Screenwriter Panu Rajala says that he got the job almost by accident. In the summer of 1969 he was invited to the writing class when director Rauni Mollberg came looking for a screenwriter. Rajala accepted after another upcoming writer Erkki Mäkinen declined.