According to Cristi Puiu, he started work on the film after being frustrated by unsuccessfully trying to get grants from the "National Council of Cinematography" ("CNC"), a Romanian public institution which is the main provider of financing for filmmaking in Romania. Both in 2001 and 2003, Cristi Puiu, supported by other young Romanian film directors (such as Nae Caranfil and Cristian Mungiu), accused "CNC" of directing financing towards the members of its "Advising Council", led by Sergiu Nicolaescu, and their protégés. In 2003 Puiu wrote in a few weeks the synopsis for a six-film cycle he called "Six stories from the outskirts of Bucharest" (including "The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu"). He initially planned them as low-budget films, in order to prove that Romanian directors can make films without aid from the "CNC".