Barrio Triste

Director: Stillz

Cast: Brahian Acevedo, Juan Pablo Baena, Samuel Andrés Celis

Visionary music director Stillz makes his debut in this violent, raw and hunting 90s-set found footage.

Sitting somewhere between documentary, fiction and nightmare, Barrio Triste is the unclassifiable film debut of visionary music director Stillz (who’s made videos for Bad Bunny, Rosalía, and Omar Apollo). Set in the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia, in the ’90s, the premise is deceptively simple: a camera falls into the hands of a group of lawless young men, who use it to document the everyday violence, criminality, and lovelessness they have become used to. Violent, raw, and sad, it’s a film of bold creative swings and extreme emotionality. Stillz is clearly a singular, original voice, and it shows in every frame of Barrio Triste. (ANNA BOGUTSKAYA)