For 14 years, seven children were locked inside a small lower Manhattan apartment. The Angulo family’s seven children — six brothers named Mukunda, Narayana, Govinda, Bhagavan, Krisna (Glenn), and Jagadesh (Eddie), and their developmentally challenged sister Visnu — learned about the world through pop culture, and mainly watching movies. They were homeschooled by their mother, Susanne, while their father, Oscar, prohibited the family from leaving the apartment out of paranoia and fear that something bad would happen to them. Except for a few strictly-monitored trips, the Angulo siblings had no access to the outside world, other than the movies that became an escape.
“If I didn’t have movies, life would be pretty boring, there wouldn’t be any point to go on,” one of the brothers says. Movies like Boogie Nights, Nightmare On Elm Street and the Dark Knighttrilogy fueled their creativity, imagination, and passion.
In January of 2010, however, everything changed for the six brothers. 15-year-old Mukunda decided to walk around the neighborhood despite their father’s demands to stay inside. All of the brothers then ventured out into New York City and began re-enacting scenes from their favorite movies. It was around the same time that Crystal Moselle, a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, happened to meet the six “peculiar-looking” siblings, donned in black Ray-Ban sunglasses reminiscent of cult classic Reservoir Dogs and straight, long hair. The brothers befriended Crystal, who soon learned their shocking story and bonded over their shared passion for film. Crystal decided to make a movie about the boys — finally they were the stars of their own creation.
“The Wolfpack” is a 2015 documentary about the Angulo family and the brothers now bonded for life. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize. In the film, Crystal finally speaks to father Oscar, who shares his reasoning for raising his children the way he did.
Watch the trailer for “The Wolfpack” below, and please SHARE this bizarre, fascinating, and strangely triumphant story with your friends on Facebook!
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