The Strangers of Santiago

The story

The Broken English Films production “The Strangers of Santiago” tells the story of an apartment building manager in Santiago desperate to leave her job due to the dangerous environment revolving around her tenants.

Production title: “The Strangers of Santiago”

Writer/Producer: Hugo Lunny

Genre: Organized crime drama

Format: Feature film

Tagline: The most dangerous thing she ever did was ask to leave.

Synopsis: Kasia Pomes is a Polish immigrant in her mid 50s living in Santiago managing an apartment building for an organized crime syndicate. Bitter about the many years she has put in she now wants out but isn’t “allowed” so she’s forced to find a way to change that.

It’s not just the length of time that she’s worked there it’s how dangerous her living situation has become. A gang war has escalated and her building is a prime target. The problem is the gang she looks after, the Nieznajomi, won’t simply let her leave. She’s too valuable, loyal and trusted.

Her centrally located building is a crime haven. It’s a second home for the syndicate’s members when they can’t get back to their real residences and lives. The Strangers of Santiago or the Nieznajomi are illegal immigrants that have been brought over to help in the operations in exchange for the prospect of a new life.

The Strangers of Santiago is a Broken English Films production about a building manager desperate to escape her job during a gang war. The building she manages houses one of the warring gangs.

Los Extranjeros de Santiago | ¿Que significa un nombre?

Behind the screenplay: The Strangers of Santiago

Frequently asked questions

What is The Strangers of Santiago about?

The Strangers of Santiago is a 120-page organized crime drama set in Santiago, Chile in 2015. It follows Kasia Pomes, a Polish immigrant in her mid-50s who has spent years managing an apartment building for an organized crime syndicate called the Nieznajomi. After years of loyal, thankless service in an increasingly dangerous environment, Kasia decides she wants out — but the gang considers her too valuable and too trusted to simply let her leave. When a gang war escalates and her building becomes a prime target, Kasia begins secretly recording the criminal activity around her, hoping to use it as leverage to force her retirement. What she fails to account for is exactly how ruthless her tenants really are.

Who are the Nieznajomi?

The Nieznajomi — Polish for “strangers” or “unknown persons” — are an organized crime syndicate made up largely of illegal immigrants who were brought to Santiago in exchange for the promise of a new life. They use Kasia’s centrally located apartment building as a base of operations, treating it as a second home when they can’t return to their own residences. The name gives the film its title and captures a central irony: people who came seeking anonymity and a fresh start have become exactly the kind of danger they were fleeing.

What films is The Strangers of Santiago similar to?

The screenplay has been compared to Goodfellas and High Rise — it shares Goodfellas’ immersive, unglamourised view of organized crime and the suffocating loyalty structures that trap people inside it, while High Rise’s claustrophobic architecture-as-social-hierarchy informs how the apartment building functions as both a setting and a cage. Ideal for fans of dark stories set in distinctive, unconventional locations.

Who is Kasia Pomes?

Kasia Pomes is the central character — a Polish immigrant woman in her mid-50s living in Santiago, Chile. She has worked for the Nieznajomi syndicate for years as building manager, performing a role that required absolute discretion and availability. By the time the story begins, she is exhausted, bitter, and determined to leave. Rather than simply walking away — something the gang won’t allow — Kasia begins recording evidence of the syndicate’s activity, aiming to use it to force a well-paid retirement. Her character was loosely modelled on a real building manager the writer knew: a woman in her late 70s who had worked for decades without appreciation, always on call and expected to go far beyond her job description.

What inspired The Strangers of Santiago?

Writer and producer Hugo Lunny drew on two real experiences. The first was managing a tall apartment building himself — a role that took a significant personal toll, during which he witnessed the complex dynamics between tenants, families, and the neighbourhood around it. The building was near a hospital in Vancouver, and the city’s drug epidemic regularly spilled into it. The second was living briefly in Santiago, Chile — a city Lunny describes as extremely rich with character and the ideal setting for Kasia’s story. The screenplay was originally developed under the title The Apartment Building.

Why is the film set in Santiago, Chile?

Writer Hugo Lunny lived briefly in Santiago and chose it deliberately for its character and atmosphere. It provides an unusual backdrop for a crime drama — most English-language organized crime films are set in familiar cities like New York or London. Santiago gives the story a distinctly international flavour that reflects the Nieznajomi’s own identity as immigrants. The gang’s Polish name, the Polish immigrant protagonist, and the Chilean setting all reinforce the film’s central theme: that the promise of a new life can become its own trap.

Is there a companion book or screenplay available?

Yes. The original 120-page screenplay is available to purchase from Broken English Books in PDF, mobi, ePub, and physical copy formats. A “Behind the Screenplay” companion piece explores the story’s inspiration and writing process. A Spanish-language edition, Los Extranjeros de Santiago, is also available on Amazon.

Who made The Strangers of Santiago?

The Strangers of Santiago is an independent production by Broken English Films, written and produced by Hugo Lunny. Broken English Films is an independent production company releasing work directly to audiences without major studio involvement.