Los Frikis

Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz's 2024 film is set in Cuba at the start of the nineties. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the country entered a severe economic crisis; a group of young rock listeners deliberately infect themselves with HIV in order to live in state-run treatment homes. The events behind the film are real. Those diagnosed at the time were placed in facilities providing three meals a day and shelter; measured against hunger and police pressure outside, this became an option and some young people chose it. The narrative shows the facility as an escape and follows the community formed there. Adria Arjona is in the cast. The tone is at times too hopeful and the progression of the illness is left to the end. Who it's for: those interested in Latin American history and drama based on real events. Who it's not for: viewers sensitive to HIV and death; the film treats both directly in its final section.