There really was an Australian girl group in the 1960s called The Sapphires, but they had only three members, not four. When they were invited to tour for the troops in Vietnam, two of the group declined due to their anti-war stance, so the remaining Sapphire drafted her sister to help her out.
The movie's co-writer and associate producer Tony Briggs is the son of Laurel Robinson, a member of the real-life The Sapphires group.
The song that the girls sing as children, and that is repeated throughout the film, was originally a gospel hymn about Moses that has been translated into the Yorta Yorta language.
The film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation.
The film's North American DVD cover art caused considerable controversy and allegations of racism as the American poster shows Chris O'Dowd front and center with the Aboriginal girls as white silhouettes in the background, despite his smaller role in the film as a whole.
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