Actor Iwona Petry was chosen by Director Żuławski after he met her accidentally in a café in Warsaw. Petry was at the time a sociology student, with 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. Bogusław Linda was chosen for the role of Michał because of his star status in Poland. Żuławski and Linda had a difficult relationship on the set and the two were even bitterly commenting on each other in the Polish press. Nevertheless, after completion of the film Żuławski called Linda a "charismatic actor".