The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Rachel Graf, a student at University of Washington, Seattle, with Jennifer Bean as academic advisor.

The end credits acknowledge “Oil Paintings by Steven Campbell” and list the following “Special Thanks to”: Vancouver Film Commission – Dianne Neufeld; People of the City of Nelson, British Columbia, and Mayor Gerald Rotering; Lisa Clarkson; Louise Coulter; Patricia Freebury; Karen Levinson; Gabriella Martinelli; Bob Montgomery; Nellie Nugiel; Bonnie Pietila; Rita Ryack; Leonard Schien; and Anthony Jones; Toni Kalem.” The credits conclude with the following dedication to author Marilynne Robinson and her family: “For Marilynne and Fred and their two wonderful boys.”
       The film features intermittent voice-over narration throughout, including the opening and closing scenes, by the character “Ruth,” performed by actress Sara Walker. The narration represents excerpts from Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping (1980), which is written in the first person from Ruth's point of view.
       A 29 Apr 1987 Var news item reported that the title was changed to Sylvie’s Ark. However, no other contemporary sources refer the picture by this name.
       As stated in a 22 Nov 1987 NYT article, Scottish screenwriter-director Bill Forsyth was introduced to Robinson’s novel by an actress friend while he was visiting New York City to receive a New York Film Critics’ Circle award for his 1983 picture Local Hero. Forsyth told NYT that he felt “covetous” of scenes in the novel and sensed “the need to own them in a movie.” After optioning the film rights, Forsyth met actress Diane Keaton, a fan of his work, and she expressed interest in starring in the project, according to an undated LA Weekly column by Anne Thompson. However, Forsyth was obliged to direct a Scottish production, Comfort and Joy (1984), before beginning his adaptation of Housekeeping.
       An 18 May 1985 Screen International news item announced that Forsyth relocated to New York to work on the script. Forsyth told NYT that adapting the novel was challenging because of its “vertical content,” including poetry, dreams and flashbacks, but he wished to capture the conceptual nature of the story. He reportedly cut pages out of the book with scissors and reorganized them into a chronology that suited a film narrative. Forsyth also noted that he tried to stay true to Robinson’s story and merge its “melancholy” with his penchant for tragic comedies.
       As reported in various contemporary sources, including NYT and a 9 Dec 1986 HR article, Forsyth and producer Robert F. Colesberry had trouble financing the film because of its quirkiness, and after being turned down by over four studios, they looked to independent financiers and foreign investors. Although the filmmakers came close to settling a contract with Norwegian backers, they declined because the deal required them to shoot a majority of the picture in Norway. At the time, Forsyth and Colesberry felt uneasy with the “logistics” of filming a U.S. story abroad, according to HR, but the film was eventually shot in Canada.
       In Spring 1986, with Keaton formally contracted to play the lead role, “Sylvie,” Forsyth and Colesbury were finally able to secure funding from Cannon Films Inc.; the deal was announced in an 8 Mar 1986 Screen International news item. Forsyth told LA Weekly that Cannon agreed to pay Keaton $1 million, but, in return, the studio “pruned” the film’s shooting budget to $3.5 million. Production was scheduled to begin, but Keaton pulled out just six weeks before the start date and Cannon followed suit, leaving the filmmakers without the resources to continue. However, Forsyth convinced Columbia Pictures' new chairman and producer of Local Hero, David Puttnam, to pick up the project and principal photography began Sep 1986. Forsyth told HR that Columbia’s revitalization of the production implied an “understanding” with Puttnam that Forsyth would direct future pictures for Columbia, but his next films were not produced by the studio. A 7 Feb 1988 LAT article reported that Puttnam used his personal assets to partially finance the film. At the behest of Puttnam and casting director Margery Simkin, Christine Lahti was cast as Keaton’s replacement.
       The 9 Dec 1986 HR article reported that principal photography was underway in Nelson, British Columbia, and production was scheduled to conclude mid-Dec 1986. The film had an expected release date of summer or fall 1987, but it was not screened theatrically until Dec 1987. Housekeeping made an appearance at the Tokyo Film Festival, where it was reviewed by DV on 27 Sep 1987. Although HR stated that the Canadian studio Screen Gems Ltd. was producing the film with Columbia acting as its distributor, Screen Gems is not mentioned in the credits. Colesberry told HR that the picture was shot in Canada mainly because the scenery suited the story, but the “favorable exchange rate” and “cost-efficient” British Columbian film-industry were also attractive to the low-budget production, which was made for $5.5 million according to LA Weekly.
       Studio production notes from AMPAS library files recorded the start date of principal photography as 22 Sep 1986 and stated that all filming was completed in Nelson with the exception of several scenes that were shot in Vancouver and Penticton, BC, as well as Hanna, a town in Alberta, Canada. Before shooting began, production designer Adrienne Atkinson researched Robinson’s hometown of Sandpoint, ID, which was a prototype of the novel’s fictional town of Fingerbone. Atkinson and Forsyth, who were also a married couple, spent time with Robinson at her Northamption, MA, home to expand their understanding of Fingerbone and its inhabitants. Production notes pointed out that Nelson was located only fifty miles from Sandpoint, and with its population of 10,000 and historical buildings, it provided an appropriate setting for a 1950s American town. Sylvie’s two-story home was constructed both as an exterior façade on site as well as an interior set inside a local laminating plant. The set was built within a forty-six by fifty foot fiberglass tank that was filled with 8,000 gallons of water to depict the film’s flood scenes. Additionally, a “partial full-scale railway bridge” was built in Sunshine Bay, a location forty minutes from Nelson. The bridge extended 105 feet, halfway across the bay. It was 175 feet high and towered twenty-five feet over the water. Atinkinson reported that the most challenging aspect of the production, however, was portraying four seasons of one year during a twelve-week shoot. Snowfall came unusually late to Nelson in 1986 and the production team was required to transport more than 250 truckloads of snow to the set from a nearby ski hill.
       As stated in a 10 Nov 1987 LAT article, the film represents Forsyth’s first picture produced in North America, as well as his first film made outside of Scotland. Housekeeping also marked Forsyth’s first adaptation of a novel and his first film which featured a predominantly female cast. Production notes reported that Canadian actresses Sara Walker and Andrea Burchill made their debut feature film performances in Housekeeping.