Filming began in March 2008 in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved overseas to Bangkok, Thailand, and finally Taiwan. Despite the film's events taking place in Taiwan, and in the face of some criticism from Taiwanese communities in America, the production chose to film in Thailand mainly due to its established infrastructure for shooting film and television. The availability of film equipment, crews, and sets offered the production a more cost-effective solution to filming than did Taiwan, where it would have been necessary to ship film equipment in from Japan. The producers also realized that present-day Taiwan no longer resembles Taiwan in the 1980s, so another major production cost relating to set design was avoided by shooting in Thailand. "Formosa Betrayed" had its world premiere at the Asian American International Film Festival on July 24, 2009, to a completely sold-out theater. The film also screened at the 32nd Annual Montreal World Film Festival where scouts from Screen Media Films first saw the film. In the rest of 2009, "Formosa Betrayed" screened at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Festival where the film won "Best Film" and "Best Actor" for James Van Der Beek's work. The film was also screened at the 10th Annual DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, the 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival, the 33rd Annual Sao Paulo Film Festival, and the 18th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival, and was featured as the centerpiece presentation at the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, where it was honored with the festival's "Audience Award". On September 14, 2009, "Formosa Betrayed" was screened for members of the United States Congress and their staffs at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Presented by the Formosa Foundation, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Congressmen David Wu (D-OR), and Michael McCaul (R-TX) presented remarks. Congressmen Al Green (D-TX) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), as well as congressional and professional staff from various House of Representatives and Senate committees, were also in attendance. Formosa Foundation Executive Director Terri Giles said, "Taiwan's democratization is not a 'miracle,' but rather a result of great human sacrifice by many whose stories inspired the film." Giles added, "This screening is designed to raise awareness among Congressional members of the historic and ongoing struggle of the Taiwanese people to build a democratic society."