Everyone loves a story of determination, survival, and overcoming adversity, and Netflix's “Snow Society” is just that.
The new film, which debuted on Netflix on Thursday, is based on the ill-fated Flight 571, which crashed in the remote Andes on October 13, 1972.
“The tale is not for the faint of heart: for those unfamiliar with the story, ‘The Snow Society’ includes a graphic depiction of the incident and what the victims had to do to avoid starvation to death, including cannibalism.” Netflix said about the film.
Here's everything you need to know about the film from award-winning Spanish director J.A. Bayona,
What they got right:Checking in on the Snow Society plane disaster with director J.A. Bayona
Is “Snow Society” based on a true story?
“Snow Society,” which closed the Venice Film Festival in September, is inspired by Flight 571, which was carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and their friends and family when it crashed instantly in a remote region of the Andes in 1972. Dozens of passengers were killed. Several other people died of their injuries shortly after.
Search and rescue crews failed to find the plane and after eight days stopped their efforts. They ultimately had to choose between death and cannibalism.
Incredibly, two of the survivors, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, traversed mountains and glaciers and walked nearly 40 miles without proper equipment to finally find help. In the end, 16 of the 45 people on board survived.
The new film is inspired by the Uruguayan author and journalist Pablo Versi 2008 book “La Sociedad de la Neve”. While Versi himself was not on the plane, he attended Stella Maris College in Montevideo, Uruguay, with the survivors of the flight, who gave him first-hand accounts of their ordeal. According to Forbes.
The filmmakers “tried to be as close to what happened as possible,” Bayona told USA TODAY.
“I remember having conversations with the other writers where I asked them not to change the facts to make it more appealing to the audience, and instead focus more on understanding the psychology behind what they did, and getting that on screen,” Bayona said.
Where are the Andes Mountains located?
The longest mountain range in the world, at about 4,500 miles, the Andes Mountains are located along the entire western coast of South America, extending across seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. According to Live Science.
Flight 571 crashed in a remote area close to the Argentine border, about 80 miles south of Santiago. The accident site is known as the Valley of Tears.
Survivors of Flight 571
It has been more than 50 years since the accident and all but two survivors are still alive. Javier Methol and José Luis “Cochie” Inciarte died in 2015 and 2023, respectively.
Canessa and Parrado actively participated in the production of the film, supporting it at various media events. The film's production team held extensive conversations with the families of the victims and survivors.
“The survivors were instrumental. Their enthusiasm fueled the film and my perspective. Bayona told Netflix. “It was essential for (the actors) to connect with survivors and other families.”
Roberto Canessa
Canessa, who was a 19-year-old medical student at the time of the accident, According to timeHe is now in his seventies and is a famous pediatric cardiologist.
Nando Parado
Parrado was 22 years old at the time of the incident and “just an ordinary middle-class Uruguayan guy waiting to go to university.” The Guardian reports.
Over the years, Parrado led a successful television production company and grew his family's appliance business and even race cars.
Daniel Fernandez
Fernandez has remained largely in the shadows and not much is known about him.
Snow Society staff.
Here are the actors playing real rugby players:
- Enzo Vugrincic Roldan as Noma Torcatti
- Matthias Reckalt as Roberto Canessa
- Agustín Bardella as Nando Parrado
- Thomas Wolfe as Gustavo Zerbino
- Diego Vegesi as Marcelo Perez
- Esteban Kokoreska as Adolfo “Vito” Strauch
- Francisco Romero as Daniel Fernandez Strauch
- Rafael Federman (Sleepwalkers) as Eduardo Strauch
- Felipe Gonzalez Otanio as Carlitos Baez
- Agustín Della Corte as Antonio “Tintín” Vizintín
- Valentino Alonso as Alfredo “Pancho” Delgado
- Simone Hemby as Jose Luis “Cochie” Inciarte
- Fernando Contigiani Garcia as Arturo Nogueira
- Benjamin Segura as Rafael “El Vasco” Echavarren
- Rocco Busca as Ramon “Moncho” Sabella
“Snow Society” trailer.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
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