The strange story of six brothers and one sister who grew up in New York but were never allowed out to explore the city's streets has become the subject of a new documentary.

The Angulo siblings - Bhagavan, 23, twins Govinda and Narayana, 22, Mukunda, 20, Krisna, 18, Jagadesh, 17, and their sister Visnu - lived with their parents on welfare in a four-bedroom apartment in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Their father, Oscar, kept the front door locked and no one else was allowed a key.

Home-schooled by their mother, the siblings found an outlet watching movies which gave them a taste, albeit a warped one, of the outside world.

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The Wolfpack: Director Crystal Moselle (center) with Mukunda, Govinda, Bhagavan, Narayana, Jagadisa and Krisna Angulo from The Wolfpack, pictured last month at Sundance Film Festival

The siblings grew up with the confines of a four-bedroom apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Although they were rarely allowed outside, they lived vicariously through watching movies

The lives of the Angulo family became the subject of film,The Wolfpack, from director Crystal Moselle.

The documentary won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last month. The six brothers and their mother Susanne also attended the premiere. Their sister, Visnu, who is the eldest and suffers developmental challenges, did not attend.

The story emerged in 2010, when Ms Moselle met one of the brothers - then aged between 11 and 18 years old - on a rare escape into the outside world.

Ms Moselle described first seeing the brothers, on First Avenue, when they were all walking in a 'pack', wearing sunglasses. Their look had been inspired by a favorite film, Reservoir Dogs.

It almost felt as if I had discovered a long lost tribe, except it was not from the edges of the world but from the streets of Manhattan. Director Crystal Moselle on The Wolfpack

Ms Moselle said: 'It almost felt as if I had discovered a long lost tribe, except it was not from the edges of the world but from the streets of Manhattan.'

The filmmaker befriended the boys, slowly earned the family's trust and was invited into their sheltered world, bringing her camera with her.

Ms Moselle said that boy's mother, Susanne Angulo, slowly opened up to her but described father, Oscar, was a 'rollercoaster'.

The documentary, which runs to one hour and 24 minutes, follows the siblings' isolated lives.

'All exceedingly bright, they have no acquaintances outside of their family and have practically never left home,' the film's press release reads.

They fed their imaginations by meticulously re-enacting favorite movies - works by Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorcese among them.

Their movie reconstructions were elaborate - at one point, two of the brothers recreated Batman: Dark Knight Rises' costumes out of no more than cereal boxes and yoga mats.

The brother says: 'After I saw the Dark Knight, that made me believe that something was possible to happen. Not because it was Batman, it’s because it felt like another world.

'I did everything I could to make that world come true. To escape my world.'

In all they had watched about 5,000 movies which were rented or bought cheaply.

Mother Susanne, left, is the family's educator. A former hippie from the Midwest, she met her husband Oscar (right) on the trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. The father, who struggles with alcohol and paranoia, has kept his children inside for their whole lives because he believes they would be 'contaminated' by New York City

The siblings were given the outlet of movies in their confined lives - leading to elaborate reconstructions. In this picture, one brother stares from the family's apartment in his Batman costume, made entirely out of ceral boxes and yoga mats

Two of the brothers (dressed as Batman and Bane from The Dark Knight Rises) re-enact a scene from the movie in their Manhattan home

The Wolfpack in some of their amazingly elaborate costumes which they created based on their favorite films

Finally, one of the brothers escapes the home, and the clan is forced to readjust and begin taking their first steps into society.

Ms. Moselle told The New York Times: 'It’s fascinating what the human spirit does when it’s confined.

THE FAMILY'S TIMELINE December 1989: Susan meets Oscar Angulo on the Machu Picchu trail in Peru. He acts as her guide, they fall in love and move to U.S. January 1990: The couple travel the world April 1990: They go to live in a Hare Krishna Center in West Virginia October 1990: Visnu is born Aug 1991: Baghavan is born in West Virginia July 1992: Govinda & Narayana born in West Virginia 1994: The family travels around the country in a van while Oscar tries to become a rock star August 1994: Mukunda is born in LA while they are still living in a van March 1995: The family moves to NYC for cheap housing - but the neighborhoods they end up in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn frighten them and they hear gunshots at night May 1996: The family moves into a housing project on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Oscar forbids the mother and kids to go out alone January 1997: Krisna is born in NYC July 1998: Jagadisa is born in NYC January 2010: Mukunda escapes the home wearing a Mike Meyers mask April 2010: The brothers start leaving the home in their 'wolfpack' Advertisement

'The downside to all the movies - and they have seen, like, 5,000 - is that there are certain formulas to them.

'Real life is different. In real life, the girl doesn’t always break your heart. The boys are still struggling to understand that.'

The children come across as a likable and intelligent group in the film, despite their unimaginably sheltered lives.

Their mother, Susanne, appears to have been controlled to the same extent that her children were.

She is described as former hippie from the Midwest who is both the provider and educator for the family. She met her husband on the trail to Machu Picchu.

Their father, Oscar, appears on briefly on camera. The Peruvian immigrant, who is devoted to Hare Krishna, appears caught in a struggle with paranoia and alcohol.

The once aspiring musician, with a deep love for AC/DC, instilled his love of music in his sons and daughter. He believes that New York will 'contaminate' his children.

However filmmaker Ms Moselle reserved judgement on Mr Angulo, telling The Times: 'The thing is, these brothers are some of the most gentle, insightful, curious people I’ve ever met. Something was clearly done right.'

According to The Times, social services did have involvement at the home and the children have received some psychiatric treatment.

In the film, all the siblings can be seen struggling with resentment towards their father for the life they have been forced to lead.

Six of the siblings still live in the family's Lower East Side apartment - only Govinda Angulo has let home.

(From left to right) Jagadisa, Govinda, Narayana, producer Izabella Tzenkova, associate producer Megan Delaney, the siblings' mother Susanne Angulo, director Crystal Moselle, Bhagavan, Jagadisa, and Mukunda attend The Wolfpack premiere during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival at the Temple Theate in Park City, Utah

THE WOLF PACK... AND HOW THEIR LIVES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE FILM BHAGAVAN ANGULO, 23: The eldest of the brothers, he is a gentle soul who finds peace through meditation and yoga. He has joined a hip-hop conservatory where he is learning how to dance. GOVINDA, 22: One of the twins, he was the one of the brothers who wanted to assert his individuality the most from the pack, according to the filmmaker. He was the first and only brother to move out of the family home. Govinda now works as an AC on various productions and aspires to be a Director of Photography. NARAYANA, 22: He is interested in the environment and currently works for an anti-fracking organization. He is a voracious reader with an encyclopedic knowledge of film MAKUNDA, 20: He is the unspoken leader of the brothers and the first to ever leave the apartment. The 20-year-old is an aspiring writer and director. His favorite holiday is Halloween and he spends the month of October preparing for a horror movie-thon and celebration. KRISNA, 17: With a quirky sense of humor, he loves to act out the movies the brothers watch. He is the most into music and 80s culture. JAGADESH, 16: The youngest brother, he is also taken a shine to the world's vices, 'emphasized by his cool guy bravado, 80s attire and hairdo', according to the filmmakers. Advertisement



