Pompeya

A junior screenwriter called Juan Garofalo is hired by film director Samuel Goldszer to write his new film: a gangster movie set in Buenos Aires. In each meeting, the filmmakers create a story that takes place in an imaginary Pompeya neighborhood. So the characters are born: Dylan, the brutal hero of the underworld, Timmy, his disturbed, deaf-mute brother, and Lana, the femme fatale who begins the love triangle. But Pompeya hides a secret and is disputed by the Russian and Korean mafia, and Dylan is caught in a sequence of bloody crimes. Dylan fights for survival while Juan, his creator, lives with greed and misery the experience of an imaginary system of evil powers. And when pure fiction and reality are completely corrupted, the unexpected happens.

Directed by Tamae Garateguy, Pompeya leans on a strong ensemble — Hernán Bustos, Luis Calvillo, Francisca Capra — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2012.