The lead actress, Hasna, who is 4 years old, is a native from the village of Tell-Makhada/Syria. Her house was two houses to the shooting location.
Being a native, she offered tremendous authenticity to her character.
Her brother was a native from the village too. He appears in one shot at the end of the film.
"Simele" was shot in 2012 in Syria at a time where Civil War and freedom revolution was taking place across the country. It was very hard to get to the shooting location. The film crew had to walk on foot from a village to village till they got to the location.