The title is a reference to a line from T.S. Eliot's poem " "Prufrock" aka "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" that reads: "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me".
Writer-director Patricia Rozema has said of this film: "Our voices, our representation of ourselves, have been in the hands of others, namely men, since the beginning of the mediums of film and television. My main character in I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) videotaped a confession that is used through the film. It's her way of having control over her definition of herself" and "I have become post facto a representative of the country. So if you ask, 'Is Mermaids a Canadian film? It has become one. It has become a means whereby people characterize Canadian film. I think in the creation of Mermaids, I did see it in political terms. I thought of the underdog. Canada is not a superpower by any means. It's very quietly, comfortably democratic, but it's plagued by a sense of inferiority".
The film was selected to screen as part of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 where it premiered. The movie there was the winner of the prestigious Prix de Jeunesse award and got a standing ovation.
Patricia Rozema performed a number of roles on this film. Rozema appears in a cameo and was the editor, the director, a producer and the screen-writer.