 It took over four years to find financing for the film. No American  studio was interested in doing it because it was about religion, so  eventually the finance was drummed up from European and Canadian  sources. Even with Oscar nominee Bruce Beresford (qv) expressing a  desire to be at the helm, the Canadian investors were still very  hard to convince. Until Beresfords film  _Driving Miss Daisy (1989)_ (qv) scooped the 1989 Oscar for Best  Film. The success of "Dances with Wolves" was also instrumental in  helping the film to get made.