The film was inspired by Summer of 42 (1971) and À nous les petites Anglaises! (1976), the later of which was made in another a seaside town within the south east of England called Ramsgate.
The screenplay and film was the feature debut of then upcoming director Hugues Burin des Roziers. Hughes never made another film and had left the industry some years before his premature passing.
Gilles and Michel were discovered by Hughes on a visit to the Fête des Tuileries in 1976. Michel aged 14 was working on the fair and Gilles aged 11 was visiting the festival with his mother and sister. Neither had previously acted although Gilles was accustomed to the industry with his father working as a movie decorator.
The production and crew arrived in Herne Bay on the south east coast of England during the summer of 1976 and immediately booked into the Dolphin Hotel on the seafront. With the roles of the English girls yet to be cast and production to start rolling, the filmmakers had insisted that the daughter of the hotel owners should take the leading part. The role was ultimately played by Maria Baker, however Jane Weldon did eventually join the production playing a secondary role along with her friend Sarah Vaughan.
The screenplay and script were largely never shared with anyone involved from Herne Bay and it wasn't until many years later that the language, subjects and actions that the children were directed to either say or carry out were realized to have been inappropriate for their age.