This is the first motion picture filmed entirely in Botswana.
The BBC aired this film on March 23, 2008, soon after it was completed and, by tragic coincidence, just five days after director Anthony Minghella died. HBO held off airing the film for a year in order to premiere it as the pilot of the resulting series they had commissioned, with the BBC.
The film's producers have signed a 10 year lease for the area at the foot of Kgale Hill, Gaborone, where they have built the fictional shopping center where Precious Ramotswe opens her storefront detective agency.
10ft electrified fences surrounded most sets to protect cast and crew from animal attack.
Grammy Award winning singer, Jill Scott, eventually won the role of Precious Ramotswe over American actresses Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Queen Latifah, and 18 African women considered for the lead