While announcing the selection of the film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, Thierry Frémaux wondered what the French title - Les Olympiades - could mean. It is actually the French name of the Parisian district where the action takes place. It is characterized by a cluster of high-rises built in the 70s and known as the largest "Chinatown" in all Europe.
It is an adaptation of three stories from Optic Nerve, a comic book series by Adrian Tomine. Specifically, it's based on several short stories from the series: Amber Sweet, Hawaiian Getaway and Killing and Dying. However, the character of Camille was invented for the movie.
Three days before shooting began, the entirety of the movie was played on a theater stage in Paris, as a rehearsal, in order to see what worked and what didn't, but also to speed up the shoot and thus limiting COVID-19 exposure for the cast and crew.
Noemie Merlant didn't research the cam sex phenomenon for the film, but she said, "I've fallen in love with people on screens before I've ever met them, so I can understand it."
It is the first Jacques Audiard film in black and white.