 Actor Iwona Petry was chosen by Director Żuławski after he met her accidentally in a cafe in Warsaw.Petry, who at this time was a sociology student, had no previous acting experience.Although there were rumors in the Polish press that Żuławski used voodoo to improve the performance of Petry, she was in fact trained by French coach Harmel Sbraire, who had previously worked with Juliette Binoche.