New SF-set crime drama filmed at the Painted Ladies and corner stores

In the gritty new crime thriller "Splash City," one of the main characters cruises through a San Francisco neighborhood, blunts in hand, describing the current state of the Bay Area.

"It's crazy in the bay, I'm telling you. Frisco, Oakland, the whole bay is bippin'," one says, using a slang term that refers to car break-ins.

The dark and deadly serious film follows a pair of brothers, Juju (Reed Shannon) and Slim (Zach Sowers), as they navigate the criminal underworld of San Francisco. Slim is a promising basketball player with his choice of scholarships, while his brother Juju becomes wrapped up in a crew of thieves who use spark plugs and brute force to smash their way into car windows. The film feels like something of a modern day interpretation of the 2004 drama "Sucker Free City." The movie was co-directed by Alex Ferrufino alongside San Francisco rapper and Cookies cannabis entrepreneur Gilbert Anthony "Berner" Milam Jr. (Berner also has a co-writing credit alongside David Mansanalez). 

"It was almost like film school for me," said Berner, who was on set for the full production and has several more film projects currently in the works.

In the movie's trailer, the narration states that car break-ins have become so pervasive that there's a break-in every 30 seconds. That exact stat may not be based in reality, but it's well-known to anyone who has lived in the Bay Area over the last 10 years that the spike in vehicle break-ins is very real. The figures were the starkest prepandemic, with nearly 20,000 vehicle break-ins in San Francisco in 2017, according to preliminary data reported in 2023 (with prior reporting methods listing a much larger figure). After a significant drop in 2020, they rose again, with over 13,000 break-ins reported in 2022 and 2023. Reliable numbers are hard to pinpoint for Oakland due to inconsistent reported data. 

There has since been a precipitous decline in vehicle break-ins in the Bay Area, with San Francisco's rate of smash-and-grabs declining by about 50% from 2023 to 2024 and even further in 2025. However, in the world of "Splash City," the crime is still common, supplying economic support for Juju and his family while entangling him deeper with the city's criminal elements.

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The film shot on location in San Francisco for 14 days at 22 spots, ranging from scenes driving past the Painted Ladies (formerly a notorious area for break-ins) and some basketball courts in a gym in Potrero Hill to the New Hampshire Market in the Mission District. The apartment scenes were shot on Treasure Island. With a budget of $2 million, Berner said the San Francisco film incentive program saved them roughly $500,000.

"We wanted to kind of show the city as much as possible," Berner said.

Berner has been touring the film across the country with mostly sold-out screenings in 11 cities, including an event earlier this month at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland with 640 attendees. There are forthcoming showings in San Jose (AMC Eastridge 15, July 31) and in San Francisco (AMC Metreon 16, Aug. 1), with hopes of more theatrical screenings down the line before it hits video on demand and streaming. But ultimately, the film is by and for the Bay Area. 

"A lot of real rooted Bay Area people, whether it be from San Francisco, Oakland, Vallejo, Richmond, etc., they loved it. And that's what I was worried about. I want home to love it first," Berner said.

Know of something interesting happening at a San Francisco venue? Is there a movie filming in your neighborhood? Do you have a friend working on a cool project we should know about? Email SFGATE's senior culture editor at [email protected].

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