Alice and Albie meet when they show up at the same location with the same intention, to end their respective lives. Having ruined each other's big exit, they begin to open up to one another, and in doing so they start to shed new light on their seemingly hopeless life circumstances.

Written and directed by British-born filmmaker Jude Rawlins, who won the 2022 Jean Luc Godard Award for his first Iowa movie Little Johnny Jewel, and starring his wife, Des Moines actress Rebecca Haroldson, Dream Time was filmed entirely on location in Iowa using Iowa-based cast, crew and facilities.

DREAM TIME trivia

Alice's hat says "AVFC" which stands for Aston Villa Football Club, the soccer team based in director Jude Rawlins' hometown of Birmingham, England. It is the exact same hat worn by Leyland the mechanic in his previous film Little Johnny Jewel.

The poem at the end of the movie is "The Call" by 19th Century radical feminist poet Charlotte Mew. Mew's poetry previously appeared in Rawlins' debut feature Albion Rising, read by British horror movie icon Eileen Daly.

The music playing in the background when Hester explains to Ronnie how she first encountered Albie is a 2006 live recording of Jude Rawlins' band Subterraneans. It is only the second time Rawlins has used Subterraneans music in one of his own films, the first time being in the experimental film Red.

The screenplay was an ever-evolving and highly unconventional approach to screenwriting, which Rebecca Haroldson dubbed "stream-of-consciousness" filmmaking. It won the Alfred Hitchcock Award for Best Screenplay at the 2023 Frida Kahlo Festival in Paris.

Rawlins cites the major influences on Dream Time as British filmmaker Tony Richardson, particularly his collaborations with writer Shelagh Delaney, and the films of Chantal Akerman and Agnes Varda, notably Akerman's Je Tu Il Elle (I You She He) and Varda's Cleo from 5 to 7. 

Rawlins also cites Fellini, Bergman and John Cassavetes as major influences on his filmmaking in general, but especially on Dream Time.

The title of the film was partially inspired by the Tom Verlaine album Dreamtime, as well as songs by The Heart Throbs and The Cult. Tom Verlaine also wrote the song "Little Johnny Jewel".

Rawlins and Haroldson became romantically involved during the making of Dream Time, which Rawlins admits may have subconsciously influenced aspects of the screenplay, although they had almost concluded filming when they confessed their feelings to each other.

Rawlins was the only crew member for the majority of the film, as his technical director Grant Gale had been cast in the part of Albie.

The Paddington Bear pillowcase is a genuine early 1970s merch item and has belonged to Jude Rawlins for as long as he can remember. The character of Albie was conceived as an amalgam of Paddington Bear, Chancey Gardener, and Kaspar Hauser as portrayed by Bruno S. in the Werner Herzog movie.