Society of the Snow (La Sociedad de la Nieve) is a worldwide phenomenon. The movie, based on the book by Pablo Vierci, tells the story of the crash of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains in 1972. Roberto Canessa and Nando Parrado climbed 15,260 feet and walked for approximately 38 miles and 10 days to seek help, leading to 16 survivors being rescued after 72 days in the mountains.
The movie has already become one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English language movies of all time. Society of the Snow is nominated for two Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The 2024 Oscars ceremony is set to take place on March 10, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC.
We had a chance to talk to real-life survivor Roberto Canessa about the experience of watching the film for the first time, and Canessa confessed the experience was a lot. “Yes, the truth is, it is very powerful,” he shared, adding that he planned to watch it many more times. “But what happens is that it leaves me so exhausted that afterward, I have to take the afternoon off.”
“But hey, at this age I can afford that luxury.” He laughed. But there is a level of satisfaction in seeing the story that cannot be denied. “The world was waiting for this. It is a story that they continue to want to know and I think this is a good contribution of what we can share, of our experience… one that can hopefully be useful to others.”
And as hard as it is to watch, for Canessa, it’s the kind of hard he can live with. “I’m sitting in a comfortable seat in a cinema, surrounded by my friends, talking to them, knowing that they’re okay, knowing that I can’t influence anything, that I have to let it happen the way it already happened.”
There’s a pain in that, but there’s also comfort. The truly hard part is already in the past for Roberto Canessa. Now it’s up to us to learn from it.
For more, don’t forget to read our full interview here.
Society of the Snow (La Sociedad de la Nieve) is available to stream on Netflix.