The Last Step is Ali Mosaffa's second feature film, following Portrait of a Lady Far Away (2005), featuring Leila Hatami, Ali Mosaffa, and Alireza Aghakhani. The screenplay was partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich and James Joyce's short story "The Dead". The film is considered one of the few independently produced features within Iranian cinema and gathered worldwide success after its world premiere at the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in July, 2012.