Mukunda Angulo Photography Patrick Sher

Seventeen-year-old aspiring filmmaker Mukunda Angulo found a unique patron in Lyz Olko, designer for fashion label Obesity and Speed. Lyz had been curious about incorporating film into her brand’s aesthetic for some time, but wanted to produce something outside the typical “fashion films” she often sees. Together with filmmaker friend Crystal Moselle, she became interested in the lives and work of Mukunda and his five young brothers, all of whom are obsessed with filmmaking, acting, and directing. The result of their collaboration is The Poison Hit, a short film merging Mukunda’s vision with Lyz’s brand.

Mukunda’s early fascination with directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino—particularly films like Goodfellas and Mean Streets— led him to write a feature length screenplay inspired by these works at the age of fifteen, which he then adapted into a short film for Obesity and Speed. Originally envisioned with an all male ensemble—and with all male roles in the film played by the Angulo brothers—Mukunda later added several female roles, including a hit woman, when adapting the screenplay.

Angulo is straightforward about what draws him to gangster films; he’s attracted to the violence. But he’s also concerned with the development of his characters and their interaction with that violence, their motives and their struggles. Mukunda saw fashion as playing an essential role in defining the characters in his film; he used costumes to denote social status and mood. And the central themes in The Poison Hit—violence, action, love, and self-discovery—recall the prevailing themes of the Obesity and Speed aesthetic.

The Poison Hit premieres Tuesday, November 14 at 8:30 at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

Crystal Moselle’s full-length documentary on the Angulo brothers is forthcoming.