In the scene where mob boss Dadan (played by Srdjan 'Zika' Todorovic) talks about his father spinning in his grave, the picture on the wall is of his real life father Bora Todorovic, who played a mob boss in Emir Kusturica's Tiempo de gitanos (1988).
As of 2016 it was included in the #100 Serbian movies list (1911-1999) and protected as cultural heritage of great importance.
The characters frequently switch between three languages: Romani, Serbian and Bulgarian.
After the commercial failure of Arizona Dream and the mixed reviews for Underground, Kusturica announced his retirement from movie making, at only 41 years old. He soon changed his mind and began work on documentary on Gypsy music, tentatively called Musika Akrobatika, which gradually morphed into this film.
The literal translation of the title from Serbian to English is "Black female cat, white cat".