This is the last completed film by the famous East German director Konrad Wolf - and commercially his most successful one.
The film is inspired by the life of East German singer Sanije Torka, basing itself on an interview of her by Jutta Voigt (credited as a consultant on the film) that went unpublished due to Torka's lifestyle not fitting the views of the East German regime. While the film similarly does not espouse these views, it was released uncensored, becoming a major success.
While director Konrad Wolf was very fond of Wolfgang Kohlhaase's script, he had trouble with its subject matter and believed it just wasn't his kind of story. However, he reportedly changed his mind during a car ride from the film studios in Babelsberg to Berlin, stating that he had figured out what he would like to achieve with this film.
The film was adapted twice for the stage. First in 2002 by Peter Dehler at the Chemnitz Theater and then in 2008 as a dance musical directed by Bronislav Roznos at the Plauen-Zwickau Theater.