The creators of the film bore the circumstances of its production admirably well. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, ICAIC had imported all of its film and development chemicals from the USSR and its economic allies. The lack of chemicals on the island after 1991 forced "Madagascar"’s production unit to mail all of their negatives to a lab in Venezuela, making "dailies," or the practice of reviewing each day's shooting and then re-filming whatever did not turn out as planned, impossible. Despite being forced to "shoot blind," as it were, Pérez maintains that he and his crew did not lack any truly fundamental supplies (besides gasoline, which was in scarce supply throughout the island by mid-1993). Nevertheless, the director did believe at the time that it would be his last film and such conditions may have played a significant role in the development of the film's style and plot.