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[icy wind gusting]
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[Matías] It's almost ten in the morning.
We're heading up the mountain.
It's a beautiful day in the Sierra Nevada.
We're here with Carlitos Páez Vilaró,
Vasco Echavarren,
Coco Nicolich,
Enrique Platero,
and the amazing Antonio Vizintín.
- We're happy to be here. - [Blas] Day two in the mountains.
[Matías] Day two in the mountains. Uh, it feels colder today.
Windier. The mountain awaits. It welcomes us.
It embraces us.
[man] And we embrace it back.
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: WHO WERE WE ON THE MOUNTAIN?
[nostalgic orchestral music playing]
I came across the book Society of the Snow while doing research for The Impossible.
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, SCREENWRITER
The Impossible took a year to film.
PRODUCER
On the last day of shooting, Belén was on the phone
with the lawyer representing the survivors,
ironing out the steps to take
to make this film a reality.
ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1972,
A CHARTER FLIGHT FROM THE URUGUAYAN AIR FORCE
CRASHED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ANDES.
SIXTEEN OF THE 40 PASSENGERS SURVIVED AFTER 72 DAYS IN THE WILDERNESS.
THE EVENT BECAME KNOWN AS THE MIRACLE OF THE ANDES.
When we heard about Bayona's film, we started to get an idea
for how the script and everything would take shape.
SURVIVOR
We began to feel hopeful and had a sense of relief and joy
because the story would be told with everyone included.
We gave J.A. complete freedom
in terms of the script and just about everything else.
SURVIVOR
I only said to him,
"Feel free to do whatever you want, but know my life's at the heart of this."
This was such a terrible tragedy, at least for me.
SURVIVOR
Imagine losing your mother, sister, and best friend on the same day
and having to bury them with your own hands.
Living for 72 days in the worst place possible.
Taking the most epic trek in the history of mountaineering.
[Roberto] The movie illustrates the majestic…
SISTER OF FERNANDO VÁZQUEZ, DECEASED
…and terrible spirit of that place, where nature dominates in full force.
SURVIVOR
Unless you see it with your own eyes, you have no idea what it's like
to set foot in that enormous mountain range.
Imagine what this is like for us. It's like being transported back there.
OCTOBER 2021. THE TEAM'S FIRST TRIP TO THE VALLEY OF TEARS (THE ANDES),
THE SITE OF THE CRASH.
THE EXPEDITION IS LED BY BENEGAS BROTHERS.
One of the most striking things about the Valley of Tears,
where the plane crashed, is the sound of the place.
Nothing lives there.
There's complete silence.
And then there are these gusts of wind,
which, at a height of 13,100 feet, are incredibly strong.
The first time we went to shoot in the Andes,
there had hardly been any snowfall that year.
We filmed a lot and spent some time exploring the surroundings,
but we had to return a year later to get footage.
When shooting was wrapping up, J.A., the cinematographer,
the special effects supervisor, and Enzo, our leading man,
went to get some footage in the Valley of Tears.
It turned out to be like something out of a breathtaking nature documentary.
It was like the mountain gave us its blessing.
It snowed a lot, almost as much as it had the year of the crash,
which was one of the snowiest years on record for the area.
[wind whipping]
- What do I do? - [woman] J.A. will tell you.
[woman] They asked us to get some information.
- And to talk to you. - Okay.
SEPTEMBER 2021: ZOOM CALLS.
[woman] So, you prefer the window seat.
Do you prefer the window or the aisle?
Window or aisle?
Uh, wait a second.
THEY'RE ABOUT TO RECEIVE NEWS THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES…
- What? - [woman] Window or aisle?
I got cast?
Just tell me. Come on.
Don't play around. Come on. That's enough already.
[Belén] María Laura Berch did a great job with casting.
PRODUCER
She later coached the actors over six or seven long months.
It really was the right decision to not go with well-known actors.
The goal was, like with everything else in the film,
to keep things organic and close to real life.
[woman] Are you on board?
[gasps, chuckles]
- [woman laughs] - [sighs]
You're the worst.
[chuckles softly]
[exclaims]
[inhales sharply]
Why are you doing this?
[huffs]
[man] Wow.
[gasps] Wait, are you being serious?
[exclaims, laughs wildly]
We were certainly looking for people who looked the part,
but mostly, we wanted actors who already had the personalities of their characters.
These similarities, along with the fact that we spent 140 days filming,
meant that we formed
our own Society of the Snow on set, a lot like the one in the film.
[cheers]
[inhales sharply]
- [J.A.] You earned it. - Wow. I can't believe it.
I need to play Roberto Canessa. I mean, I want it.
I was dying to get the part.
I'm obsessed.
[laughs]
No way.
[laughing]
Holy shit.
[both laughing]
[woman] Are you ready?
Yeah. Let's do this.
[crew cheers and applauds]
[group shouting indistinctly]
- [tapping to beat] - ♪ Led by Bayona ♪
♪ We're all gonna take a victory lap! ♪
- [whistling] - ♪ Come on, come on, sing with me… ♪
DECEMBER 2021: REHEARSALS AND TRAINING IN BARCELONA
[trainer] Today's workout focuses on the lower body, and it's a tough one.
We have to complete four sets today, working the entire leg.
You're going to do ten reps, holding each one for three seconds.
Three, four.
One, two, three.
Nice job. Ease down. Squeeze. Lift.
That's it!
- Let's go. - Push. Keep it up.
- Come on, champ. - Up. Six. Knees apart.
Four.
Ten.
Great session today, guys.
A tough one but a good one.
- Time to head home, eat, and rest up. - [group cheers]
[somber music playing]
I died on December 11, 1972, at ten in the morning.
I was the 29th person to depart from the journey we began 58 days before,
leaving 16 friends to carry on.
J.A. did an amazing job directing.
I think it's one of the aspects of the project that he enjoyed the most.
Many of our actors were inexperienced or had only done theater.
They weren't used to being on camera, but with J.A. as director,
and under his careful supervision, they really shined.
Nando wants to venture out now, but he's scared.
When Roberto says, "Let's fix the radio,"
Nando says, "That won't work. Let's just go."
So Roberto goes, "Let's try to get it to work."
"If it doesn't, then we can head up into the mountains."
That works for Nando because he's scared too.
He thinks, "Fine. At least Roberto's in."
Go. That's it!
- [coach] Up! - [actor] Here!
Get down!
- Get up! - [groans]
[coach] You're up there!
Get up in four.
You're totally exhausted.
You have to give your actors what they need.
You need to give them all the information and help you can.
My approach to working with actors is to basically give them space.
Meaning give them room to experiment, to make mistakes if they need to.
I tell them, "Make mistakes. It's fine. We can just do another take."
So they can try things out.
But to do that, they need to have all the information.
We're leaving for Granada in four days, and I can't believe it.
It's going to be really intense but great.
We can't wait to get out there and get started.
[group cheers]
[laughing and exclaiming]
Big smiles or no?
Big smiles!
[camera shutter clicking]
[unsettling instrumental music playing]
[electricity crackles]
[man] As for fuselages, we've built five.
The small ones, the one on the gimbal, and the two here.
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Each has a specific purpose.
It might seem crazy to have five, but it isn't really.
Each one has a specific function, so they work together as one.
The challenge with the fuselage on the mountain was getting it there.
We built it here in Madrid and transported it in one piece
to the Sierra Nevada, where we dismantled it into three parts
and brought it up the slopes to the location, which was very high up.
Not as high as Veleta peak,
but it was in the most elevated part of the Sierra Nevada.
DECEMBER 13, 2021: TRANSPORTING THE FUSELAGE TO GRANADA
[music fades slowly]
[alert beeping]
While we had that plane there, we also had one at ground level,
in the middle of an olive grove in Granada.
That particular one was able to be lifted up and down.
We built a platform that allowed us to raise and lower the entire plane.
So, we spread artificial snow around the plane.
SPECIAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR
And then you could lower it and raise it to change the level of snow coverage.
[in English] We're here today on the back lot…
SPECIAL EFFECTS SNOW SUPERVISOR
…converting the back lot into a construction site,
into a winter wonderland.
At the moment, we're spraying the outer edges of the set
using two different snow products.
One is a pure cellulose product,
and the other is a cellulose and starch product.
[in Spanish] And then we had a third plane, which was on a set
up in the mountains.
At an altitude of 6,500 feet.
We built a warehouse with LED screens
to recreate the mountains because we avoid using green screens.
And then, for the crash scene, we made replicas of the plane.
One of these was like a fourth plane on a gimbal.
It allowed us to change the angle of the plane
and create turbulence similar to the kind you'd have on a real flight.
And then we used smaller pieces of the plane
to produce more intense turbulence for the crash, for specific shots.
- [fans whirring] - [passengers screaming]
[tense, rhythmic music playing]
[machinery whirring]
- [music cuts out] - [J.A.] Delta, plate one alpha, second.
The day we began filming, the director and all the actors had COVID.
- [woman] Where does Pancho go? - [man] First.
[woman] Let's go.
WEEK 1: FILMING BEGINS
So we started the first day with the director stuck in a booth,
wearing his face mask, alone,
with a microphone, far away from everyone else,
sending instructions to the set and directing body doubles.
We could only film from behind. The real actors were out sick.
[man] Heads up, folks. We're starting.
[J.A.] Now!
Now!
The first few days, J.A. wasn't with us since he had COVID.
WRITER, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
But we heard his voice, and it was like it came from beyond the grave.
[man 1] Action!
[J.A.] You're freezing. Vacant stares. You're going to die tonight.
I want to see that you're going to die, that you think you're dying.
- [man 2] Platero. - [J.A.] I'm not convinced!
It was all very strange.
I couldn't think of a more perfect way
to mirror the '72 incident, which sat somewhere between reality and surreality,
life and death, than how we kicked off the shoot.
We've been waiting for this moment for over a year, since the casting call.
And to be here now, it's like, "Finally."
The first scenes were close-ups of Numa.
It felt like we were starting strong. It was awesome.
A lot of this is in here.
But yeah, it's really intense. Really powerful.
Every scene takes a lot out of you.
There are times when we're waiting for the cameras to roll,
and you can't help but think, "This is a true story."
The first few days, as the actors began to recover,
they started coming in one by one.
We kept trying to figure out which shots we could film each day.
Let's keep the frame. Set up the lighting, please.
A little more snow.
More snow on Marcelo.
I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of it.
J.A. was outside the booth today, so that made a big difference.
He was there with us. We tried different things. It was great.
[heroic music playing]
On set, there's a mountain to climb every single day. [chuckles]
A metaphorical mountain.
Every time we got to a new scene, we'd go, "Now we have to film the avalanche."
"Now we have to scale the mountain in the west…"
In other words, all the scenes were physically and technically demanding.
[sinister music playing]
[passenger 1] Help!
[passenger 2] Numa, are you okay? Numa!
- [passenger 3] Help! - [passenger 2] Numa!
- [passenger 4] Please! - [passenger 5] Vasco, where are you?
[frantic shouting continues]
[passenger 2] Numa, where are you?
[J.A. speaking indistinctly]
- Cut. - [man] Great job, Juan Diego. Excellent.
- Nicely done. - [Enzo] We survived.
We survived, man. We almost got our heads chopped off.
Very intense.
Really cold.
[woman] Roberto.
Nando.
WEEK 2: THE TEAM GOES UP TO THE MOUNTAIN SET FOR THE FIRST TIME…
AT AN ELEVATION OF ALMOST 9,850 FEET
SOME OF THE ACTORS HAVE NEVER SEEN SNOW BEFORE.
[somber piano music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Working around the conditions on the mountain was the hardest part.
You can't control the mountain, so you have to adapt to it.
And adapting within the time constraints was the biggest challenge.
Especially with so much of the crew being away from home,
posted up in a ski resort right in the middle of peak season.
It was all really complicated.
[man] We set out to do something that was truly challenging.
CINEMATOGRAPHER
We wanted to reach places that are really difficult to access
with proper equipment, with good cameras,
with something that would let us capture the majesty of those places
in the best way possible.
We were filming at an elevation of 9,842 feet in a snowy location
with safety measures in place.
It was difficult to get around. We had to do things slowly.
We were trying to get into the rhythm of the film right away.
So it took us a while to get into our stride and make progress.
[J.A.] Come on. That's great. Pull it for another ten feet.
Carlitos, face the camera. Let us see what you're doing.
Wipe off any blood that's on you. Stay with Carlitos.
[woman] What happened to your nose?
- I had a nosebleed. - Why?
It just happened.
- The altitude, physical exertion… - What did you do?
- Did you clean yourself up? - They used it.
We're almost done for the day.
Time for a nice sunset, a final scene, and one last shot.
We have to take advantage of this beautiful light. [chuckles]
- [man 1] Let's move on to scene 41. - [man 2] Action.
[indistinct chatter]
- [man 3] Okay. - [man 4] Final slate.
[excited chatter]
[Matías] Taking it easy.
[indistinct chatter]
Great. Beautiful.
[wind gusting]
I'll just say this now. Today we're having paella.
What a strange coincidence it'd be if the nutritionist showed up.
[all laugh]
All the characters, from the day of the accident until they're rescued,
progressively lose weight.
It's gonna be tough, but we need to do it
to play our characters and do justice to the story.
It adds to the performance, and we're all on board.
They have dulce de leche mousse, and I can't even eat it.
- Where's the dulce de leche? - Here. It's a mousse.
- This? - The one without a label.
- Don't worry. I'll eat it for you. - Gee, thanks.
- It is what it is. - Check it out. It smells awful.
[laughing] Son of a… I can't believe this.
SPECIAL EFFECTS AND MAKEUP
As the days go by, makeup is being used to accentuate their transformations,
and that definitely adds to the film.
[J.A.] The actors were brave enough to take the plunge
and shoot the film chronologically, losing weight as time went on.
I got a cold sore from not eating enough.
- [man 1] You're not eating, right? - [man 2] It's from hard work.
I'm down 44 pounds.
- [Esteban] Quit bragging about that. - All right.
- [man 1] When was the last time you ate? - Back in December of last year.
[group laughs]
[Roy] Hang in there!
We're filming the avalanche. March 2, 2022.
WEEK 8: THE AVALANCHE SCENE
- [man] Silence now, please. - I'm going to squeeze in here.
They want silence.
[man] Heads up. We're about to roll.
In this film, silence is everything.
[tense music playing]
[J.A.] The actors had a rough time filming the avalanche.
You can see it on their faces throughout the scene.
- [gasps] - [screaming]
[man] For the avalanche, we set up some snow cannons… air cannons.
We filled them with snow and shot them off
into the plane, causing the suitcases and everything else to fall.
Rolling.
[group cheering and applauding]
[low rumbling]
FOR THE ACTORS' SAFETY, RUBBER SUITCASES WERE USED
[group yelps]
- [silence falls] - [muffled screams]
[echoing] I'm here!
The actors had to emerge from the ground.
Uh, we had several hollow platforms.
They had to wait for their turn to come out through a hole,
and they had to break through a thick layer of real snow.
It was extremely cold and freezing.
It's really distressing.
I don't know how they survived. It blows my mind.
Even the tiniest bit of snow starts to sting.
It suffocates you and makes you feel helpless.
[screaming]
[Javier] Hold on! Hold on!
- It's intense. - It's incre… I don't know.
We didn't expect the avalanche to be this tough.
It's a struggle, but it looks awesome.
[screams]
[man] Up! Up! Up! Up!
[Roy gasping]
[J.A.] Cut.
WEEK 12: A THIRD UNIT HANDLES THE HIGH-ALTITUDE SCENES.
[man] The Sierra Nevada has certainly been a challenge.
Unlike any other set or outdoor environment
where we usually shoot, this is a mountain.
It's an inhospitable place.
Working at such a high altitude really limited us.
It's been a real challenge shooting in the mountains at such an elevation.
[director in English] Three, two, one. Go.
THEY'RE LED BY A NORWEGIAN DIRECTOR AND A DP WHO IS AN EXPERT SNOWBOARDER.
[director] Look down in the snow here.
[in Spanish] Three, two, one. Let's start walking.
- [in English] Got it. Cut. - Okay. We have it. I'm happy, guys.
[director in Spanish] You'll climb and set up your bivouac,
which is the bed, on top of this rock.
DIRECTOR, MOUNTAIN UNIT
We'll start from below, then bring the camera up
and begin the dialogue again from above.
If we have time, we'll do it again, but I'm not sure we will.
That's all.
[man] As you know, the main characters go on several expeditions
in search of supplies.
Eventually, they try to make their way to civilization.
That's basically what we've tried to capture.
THEY REACH THE HIGHEST POINTS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA,
AT AN ELEVATION OF ALMOST 10,830 FEET.
Great job, guys.
Nando too. One second.
Look towards the camera a little.
[in English] Cut.
- Huh? - Eh.
All good?
[group laughs]
[intense candombe drums playing]
[gentle music playing]
WEEK 16: LAST WEEK IN THE SIERRA NEVADA, FILMING THE RESCUE SCENE.
[in Spanish] The last day in the Sierra Nevada,
at the exterior fuselage on the mountain,
we were filming the arrival of…
I get emotional talking about it. The arrival of the rescue helicopters.
The survivors know that Nando and Canessa have made it to safety,
and they're getting ready to be rescued and coming to terms with the last 72 days.
They're about to leave what has been their home
and the society they've created.
They're eager to return home and wondering
how the world will react to what they've been through.
A wonderful yet intense period is coming to an end.
The hardest one yet.
It has been very demanding, both physically and emotionally.
But we're very glad we got to experience this whole process,
and we're grateful.
My experience in the Sierra Nevada, Granada, and Spain will stay with me.
[uplifting choral music playing]
[Sandra] When the helicopters arrived,
I believe our entire team…
I won't go as far as to say we felt what the survivors felt on the mountain,
but we had our own moment of…
"It's finally over."
We still have a lot to film, but that difficult part,
dealing with the mountain, the fuselage, the characters, the weight loss,
the struggles of living together, and COVID on top of that,
as well as having to live in an isolated mountain village…
That period of intense concentration, effort, working hours, energy,
technique, suffering, joy… had come to an end.
Yeah, I'm done.
That was great. Thanks.
Ah!
It's over.
I believe it's one of the most emotional moments
I've ever experienced on a film set.
It was incredible.
WEEK 20: THE TEAM HEADS TO URUGUAY TO SHOOT THE END OF THE FILM.
CHILEAN AIR FORCE
[gentle music playing]
[group exclaims]
It's a miracle. It's a miracle.
- What do you mean, a miracle, Mom? - It's a miracle.
- It's a miracle. It's a miracle. - [sobs]
Cut. Great job.
[somber piano music playing]
WELCOME TO SAN FERNANDO
WELCOME
[crowd clamoring]
CHILE AND URUGUAY
[applause]
[cheering]
Thank you, everybody!
Incredible work! Come on, everyone!
[man] Three, two, one. Action.
DECEMBER 2022: CRASH SCENE, NETFLIX STUDIOS, MADRID
[groans]
[man] Cut. Cut. Cut.
[engines straining]
[Sandra] We asked ourselves how we could film the crash,
knowing that Bayona relies on realistic practical effects,
using the actors as well as stunt doubles.
Also, how could we incorporate one of the many things that Bayona excels at,
making the viewer feel like they're in the scene,
right in the middle of the action?
[tense music playing]
Three, two, one. Action.
- [groans] - [screaming]
We mainly have small sets for specific shots.
Then we have half a fuselage on a gimbal
to get all the movements and real inclines
along with the turbulence.
Then we have a full moving fuselage.
We use this plane to show
normal flying conditions, when the passengers play cards,
mess around, get rowdy, and stuff like that.
Real planes can reach this angle, and it's historically accurate.
A ball is rolling on the floor. Action! Pancho, look out the window!
You're about to crash! The plane's right in front!
And then, sun!
And cut.
[man] Stunt-wire work has become a key part of this film
because it allows us to move at the speed and in the direction we want.
So, we had to prepare the seats in the fuselage
so that the actors could do the stunts.
STUNT SUPERVISOR
We modified all the seats and added more foam to them.
With the help of the special effects team, we created rubber trays and armrests
to keep the actors safe while filming the impacts.
All the backdrops used in the movie are real.
They're footage and photographs taken in the Andes.
Since it's based on a true story,
the audience tends to not like the digital look.
You can sense that it's not real.
I'm really pleased with Félix Bergés's and Ranchito's work.
One, two, three, cut!
[screaming]
Gastón!
[wind whistling]
[rhythmic string music playing]
[alert beeping]
We thought they were dead.
Uruguay!
The film gives a voice to those who didn't make it.
I feel like it has provided answers to all the lingering questions.
It was an emotional period, and it's much more than just a movie.
Through this film, we access layers of awareness
that we had no idea existed.
It's the movie that has truly taught me the most, every step of the way.
It was an emotional roller coaster,
but we all agreed that what really kept us going
was the camaraderie and the friendships that we forged.
♪ Many times I was locked up… ♪
Even now, it's hard to believe.
I don't know how they survived, but because they returned home,
we were able to find out what happened.
Instead of just recounting the events,
the film shows what happened to this group
and how they had to face their own mortality.
[J.A.] Folks, that's a wrap.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2022: SHOOTING WRAPS ON SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
The movie obviously stirs up a lot of emotions.
Bayona has brought us all together 50 years after the events.
SISTER OF FELIPE MAQUIRRIAIN, DECEASED
The story had never been told like this until now.
Bayona is the kind of person who doesn't quit until the scene is right.
He won't stop trying to get the shot until it moves him
and really makes him feel something.
It totally changed how I see acting.
I believe it has given us tools
to work on other projects in the future and grow as actors.
Sometimes, you want to wring his neck. Other times, you want to give him a hug.
But this experience has definitely helped me grow as a person and an artist.
♪ My dear J.A. ♪
♪ You are the joy ♪
♪ Of my heart in every way ♪
I believe J.A. has poured his heart into this story,
putting in a lot of work with Pablo,
to perhaps make the best film of his life.
We've all heard the story of the heroes
who succeeded in crossing the Andes and returning home.
But the story of the anonymous heroes
who allowed the survivors to return hadn't been told until now.
When you see someone so invested in a story from day one
and their attention to detail,
that's when you know there's an unbreakable connection there.
DAUGHTER OF JAVIER AND LILIANA METHOL
In my eyes, J.A. has become almost like a member of our community of survivors.
The film creates a space for us to revisit who we were.
[uplifting instrumental music playing]
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: WHO WERE WE ON THE MOUNTAIN?
Subtitle translation by: Meredith Cannella