Young Colombian immigrant Machado has a job harvesting grapes in the French countryside. He also seems to have a criminal past, as a female gangster boss hires him to steal a valuable emerald – dressed up as a priest – from a famous church close to Medellín. Yet this supposedly watertight plan quickly goes awry ... Images and moments, woven together with fine threads: amusingly and with considerable lightness of touch, director Simón Vélez gets to grips with and reconfigures the gangster film genre. The plot is characterised by original dramatic paths rather than a classical linear narration: pared down in terms of action and dialogue, unfolding at unique locations that do not just frame the plot but enter into a congenial unity with the characters. The striking camerawork carries out expeditions through Colombia’s multifaceted flora – at once shimmering and shining, just like the object of desire. Imposing colour compositions, energetic dances, cool costume design: Piedras preciosas is a feature debut that elegantly eschews Colombian stereotypes, relates to colonial history and cultivates a timeless pop aesthetic.