As documentary subjects go, it’s hard to think of one more arresting than the life of a gang in Cité-Soleil. The poorest area of Haiti – itself the poorest nation in the West – is a wartorn slum where armed gangs known as ‘chimères’ (ghosts) rule the streets. Filmed in 2004, this follows two of the five local gang leaders, brothers Billy and 2Pac. Both claim the then-president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was paying the gangs to attack anyone criticising the government. It’s no wonder the UN regards Cite-Soleil as “the most dangerous place on Earth”.

If you generally find documentaries too dry for your taste, try this; the subjects are observed so closely it feels more like a feature film, with the emotionally charged, devastating story of the two brothers – one an aspiring rapper, the other a politically minded thinker, both vicious thugs when provoked – trying to escape their fate after the deposed Aristide leaves them high and dry.

With an awkward love triangle between the two brothers and a Machiavellian French aid worker called Lele, plus an appearance by none other than Wyclef Jean adding to the general sense of weirdness, this is a powerful, moving film. You don’t leave it feeling you know much more, factually, about the politics and history of Haiti, but you sure as hell feel like you’ve been ground through the mill with its inhabitants.