The filmmakers had originally planned to shoot scenes in Africa until location manager Pia Emery convinced them to film the African scenes in Victoria, Australia.
Around 350 people from Melbourne's African community were cast as extras.
The largest foreign production to be filmed in Victoria, Australia since Steven Spielberg's The Pacific (2010), and the largest Australian-Chinese co-production in the state.
The snow scenes were all filmed at Mt Hotham, Victoria, Australia