With the help of a few dollars raised during a radio broadcast, a 16-mm camera and a handful of amateur actors, Cassavetes began his directorial career with work that later became a milestone in the history of American independent cinema. In his directorial debut, he focuses on the lives of three African-American siblings, two brothers and a sister, all of whom are musicians in NE Animatork. The film paints a vibrant art scene there, and through her sister's romantic misadventures provides an insight into the racial dynamics of the time.
Cassavetes je s pomočjo nekaj dolarjev, zbranih med radijsko oddajo, 16-mm kamere in peščice amaterskih igralcev začel svojo režisersko kariero z delom, ki je kasneje postalo mejnik v zgodovini ameriškega neodvisnega filma. V svojem režijskem prvencu se osredotoča na življenje treh afroameriških sorojencev, dveh bratov in sestre, ki so vsi glasbeniki v New Yorku. Film naslika tamkajšnjo živahno umetniško sceno, prek sestrine romantične nezgode pa nudi vpogled v rasne dinamike tistega časa.