Return to Burma is the first feature movie directed by Taiwanese director Midi Z, who was born in Myanmar. It continues the theme of his short movie The Man From Hometown. The film is packed with Poor Folk (2012) and Ice Poison (2014) by the distributor as the director’s "Homecoming Trilogy." The other two films of the trilogy depict the lives of illegal immigrants of Chinese ethnicity on the border of Myanmar.

Return to Burma is the first feature film in history to be shot and completed in Myanmar (Burma). It was selected for official competition for the New Currents Award at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival and was nominated the following year for the Tiger Award in the official competition section at the 2012 Rotterdam International Film Festival. Return to Burma altogether has been nominated for more than twenty awards.