J.A. Bayona is taking on the almost-impossible true story of a 1972 plane crash.
The “Impossible” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” director helms Netflix film “Society of the Snow,” based on Pablo Vierci’s 2008 nonfiction book of the same name. Bayona co-wrote the script with Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, and Nicolás Casariego.
In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, crashed in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of its 45 passengers survived the accident. Trapped in one of the most hostile and inaccessible environments on the planet, they have to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.
The cast includes Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi, Fernando Contigiani García, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Tomás Wolf, Agustín Della Corte, Felipe Otaño, Andy Pruss, Blas Polidori, Felipe Ramusio, and Simón Hempe.
The film’s story was previously dramatized in Frank Marshall’s 1993 narrative feature “Alive,” starring Ethan Hawke.
“Society of the Snow” will have a world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival as the Closing Night selection, out of competition. The film will later screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival as part of the Pearl section.
The Venice Film Festival also marks the premieres of Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance,” Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” late director William Friedkin’s “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” Roman Polanski’s “The Palace,” and Harmony Korine’s “Aggro Drift,” all out of competition like “Society of the Snow.”
Bayona teased to Deadline that early screenings of the film left audiences “in shock.”
“It’s a difficult movie, but, at the end, it’s a most optimistic view of what humans being are at their core,” he said. “It tells you, when we are taken away from everything that we have, what arises and what surfaces…I think I’m attracted to these very extreme stories. They might feel dark, but, in the end, they are very optimistic about life. I think that in order to enhance life, sometimes you need to face death.”
The “Orphanage” director revealed it took a decade to find financing for “Society of the Snow” to be made in Spanish. Bayona also spoke with the real-life survivors to craft the story.
“Society of the Snow” is produced by Belén Atienza, Sandra Hermida, and J.A. Bayona, with author Pablo Vierci as an associate producer. The film features music by Michael Giacchino.
“Society of the Snow” will premiere later this year on Netflix. Check out the teaser below.
