Is Netflix's upcoming drama Society of the Snow based on a true story? Details explored

Society of the Snow is an upcoming film from Netflix that will be released at the end of the year. Currently, the film is awaiting its global premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival, where it will close the festival in an Out of Competition slot.

Society of the Snow is based on the book La Sociedad de la Nieve (The Snow Society: The Definitive Account of the World's Greatest Survival Story) co-written by crash survivor Dr. Roberto Canessa and Uruguayan journalist Pablo Vierci. The book accounts for the true story of the survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes mountains.

The book has been adapted into a film by director J.A. Bayona who is a Spanish director famous for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and The Impossible. While conducting research for his 2012 film The Impossible, Bayona came upon Vierci's book.

Society of the Snow was announced for filming in November 2021. Filming locations included the actual accident site as well as Sierra Nevada, Spain, Montevideo, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina in the Andes.

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Society of the Snow - A story of 16 plane crash survivors in the Andes

Netflix is returning to the realm of true stories with its adaptation of Society of the Snow. The 1972 tale of a group of passengers who survived a plane accident served as the inspiration for the movie.

The first trailer for the movie was released on 24 August 2023, giving viewers a brief glimpse of the terrifying circumstances the survivors faced. The release date of the film has not yet been determined by Netflix although it is speculated that it will premiere on the streaming platform by the end of the year.

The official synopsis of the film as per IMDb reads:

"The flight of a rugby team crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survive the crash find themselves in one of the world's toughest environments to survive."

Society of the Snow follows a Uruguayan rugby squad as they travel to Chile on board Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. Only 29 of the 45 passengers initially survived the disaster when the plane hit the Andes Mountains.

The group gets trapped in a hostile and unreachable environment. They need to take any action necessary to ensure their survival, which would entail remaining stranded for three months before being found and saved.

The teaser shows group images on the plane and someone taking pictures to remember the vacation before everything goes wrong. The aftermath of the disaster is then documented in the following pictures as a guy asks, "What happens when the world deserts you?"

The emphasis changes to the group as they struggle to survive in the hard, snowy surroundings as the teaser goes on. It's also important to note that the teaser emphasizes the passengers' perspective on the story rather than the collision itself.

The teaser heavily focuses on the imagery and cinematography rather than narration keeping a more significant moment for the finish. Additionally, the narrator underlines the impact that the crash and subsequent fight for survival have on the survivors by asking,

"Who were we in the mountains?"

The cast of Society of the Snow includes Enzo Vogrincic in the role of Numa Turcatti, along with Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella, Diego Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, and Andy Pruss, among others.

The film will screen for the first time at the 80th Venice Film Festival on September 9, 2023, which is the closing night.