 The film was shot within 20 miles of actual battles then occurring  between Russians and Chechens. Local Muslim guerrillas served as  bogyguards for the cast and crew. The film tells the story of two  prisoners of war, but truth is stranger than fiction: when the  guerrillas found out that amateur actress  Mekhraliyeva, Susanna (qv) was paid for her job in U.S. dollars  they took the whole film crew prisoner! Her salary was soon changed  for Russian rubles and the shooting continued as if nothing had  happened.