Barefoot Student Army was made by two young Melbourne filmmakers, Lyndal and Sophie Barry, who spent a year living among the students and recording their struggle. The documentary incorporates their own footage as well as newsreels to explain the background to the 1988 protests and tell the stories of some of the students. It also documents the struggle of the Karen people, who have been waging armed struggle against the Burmese government for 40 years.