 Realizing that every prisoner likely had an intricate story, Zhang began to research for a possible film by interviewing several inmates.From this starting point, "Seventeen Years" eventually shifted its focus from a film about an inmate within the prison walls, to one about a former inmate attempting to reconnect with her family.A screenplay was written by Zhang with the collaboration of the established writers Yu Hua and Zhu Wen and Zhang's wife, Ning Dai.