The story of the film takes place at a time when the Principality of Romania embarked on the path of slow modernization, but there were still social phenomena related to the old times and an outdated mentality. One of them was Roma slavery, which lasted from the 13th to the end of the 19th century. Today, very little is known about this phenomenon and it is almost non-existent in public discourse, although its influence on the social life of Romania still persists. The representative of the Romanian new wave, Radu Jude, won the Silver Bear for directing at the Berlinale festival for the film.