Introduction

Spanish director J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow,” a reconstruction of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes that forced survivors to take extreme measures, including cannibalism, has been set as the Venice Film Festival’s closing film.

The Immersive Spanish-language Saga

The deeply immersive Spanish-language saga is a Netflix original film shot in Andalusia’s Sierra Nevada, mainland Spain’s highest mountain range, using a 300-person crew. “Society of the Snow” will world premiere on the Lido out of competition on Sept. 9. Its official screening will be held in the Palazzo del Cinema after the awards ceremony.

The Tragic Event

In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which had been chartered to bring Montevideo’s Old Christians Rugby Club team to Chile, crashed at an altitude of 11,712 feet in the Andes. Of its 45 passengers – which consisted mostly of the rugby team, friends and family – only 29 survived. Without food, the survivors, who belonged to Uruguay’s elite, were forced to eat the flesh of the deceased to stay alive. 19 survived an avalanche. 72 days after the crash, 16 finally made it out alive.

Change in Opening Film

The high-profile streaming title comes less than 24 hours after Venice revealed it was forced to pull Luca Guadagnino’s Zendaya-starrer “Challengers,” which had been set as its opening film, due to promotional complications prompted by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Italian World War II epic “Comandante” is replacing “Challengers” as Venice’s opening night movie.

The Cast and Crew

The “Society of the Snow” cast features up-and-coming Uruguayan and Argentine actors Enzo Vogrincic (“A Twelve-Year Night”), Matías Recalt (“Apache, la vida de Carlos Tévez”), Agustín Pardella (“Pinamar”) and Felipe González (“El Cazador”).

About the Film

Directed by Bayona, “Society of the Snow” is produced by Belén Atienza, Sandra Hermida and J.A. Bayona. Starring Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Esteban Kukuriczka and Tomas Wolf. The screenplay is by Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, and Nicolás Casariego from the novel by Pablo Vierci. The director of photography is Pedro Luque (“Don’t Breathe”).

J.A. Bayona’s Achievements

J.A. Bayona made his directorial debut with “The Orphanage” (2007) which launched at Cannes and won numerous awards including seven Goyas, which are Spain’s highest film honours. In 2012 he made his first English-language foray with “The Impossible, a harrowing disaster movie that grossed $198 million worldwide.

Venice Film Festival Details

The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run Aug. 30-Sept. 9. The lineup will be announced on July 25.