“Anhell69” (Colombia/Poland/France/Germany, 2022) A hearse enters the streets of Medellín in the middle of the night with the body of a young filmmaker telling the story of the film he wants to make with young people from the queer community. Its setting is based on the context of a spectrophilic sect.
With a hybrid vitality, “Anhell69”, by Theo Montoya, is a film work that seems to be born spontaneously from itself, especially from the encounter with these young people who have already passed away, whom the director met for his film project, which only came to fruition in the form of a documentary.
The dystopian exploration of Medellín invaded by a spectrophilic sect, which is attracted to ghosts, invites the narrative to confront the city with its bloody decades, where the youth tries with creative energy and resilience to survive.
Around a documentary making of, Theo Montoya builds a cinematic exploration in an arboreal structure. A creative and bold work, whose monstrosity of a society pushed to its margins is presented as a resurgence of the awakening of consciences.
But Montoya’s lead actor, Camilo Najar, who had also starred in his previous film, died early in production at the age of 21 – Anhell69 was his Instagram handle – derailing the plans. And as it turns out, Najar was one of eight people in the film who have died, mostly from drugs, suicide or street violence.
So instead, among the material intended to be part of the zombie film, there are numerous interviews in the form of auditions. Najar and other young people from Medellín, many of them LGBT+, tell their stories.
The question of death always looms large over these passionate minds. The widespread pogroms and war could have ended. But the lingering effects of violence affect the city’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities, including queer communities. “Anhell69” may be a work of anguish and sadness. At the same time, it is underpinned by extremely beautiful imagery.
Montoya’s otherworldly visuals don’t simply seem to be mourning the people they’ve lost. He’s also mourning their lost dreams, lost possibilities, and the things they could never have.
*Eduardo de Assumpção is a journalist and responsible for the blog cinematografiaqueer.blogspot.com
Source: Maxima
I am an experienced author and journalist with a passion for lifestyle journalism. I currently work for Buna Times, one of the leading news websites in the world. I specialize in writing stories about health, wellness, fashion, beauty, interior design, and more. My articles have been featured on major publications such as The Guardian and The Huffington Post.