The true story behind Society of the Snow

Netflix's Society of the Snow tells the true story of the 1972 Andes plane crash, where an aircraft carrying 45 passengers crashed and left those that survived to do whatever they had to do, even resorting to cannibalism, in order to survive until their rescue 72 days later.

The event has been told countless times in the media, and even inspired Paramount+ show Yellowjackets, but JA Bayona's film tells the story of the crash and the survivors' subsequent battle to stay alive in a candid way, highlighting those that were lost during their time in isolation.

But what really happened and what is the story behind the film? Here is everything you need to know.

The true story behind Netflix's Society of the Snow

On 13 October, 1972, 45 passengers were travelling from Uruguay to Chile, amongst the passengers was a Uruguayan rugby team travelling for an exhibition match. Most of the passengers were in their late teens and early twenties, with some of the rugby team members' family also travelling with them.

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When the plane crashed into the Andes seven people died when they were sucked into the fuselage, a further four, including the pilot, died on impact, and two days after the accident another five people perished. 29 survivors remained, who were left to fight to survive over the course of 72 days.

Some were seriously wounded in the plane crash, and the survivors built a makeshift fort within the airplane's fuselage using airplane seats so they could stay out of the elements. Their food supplies began to run low fast, because they were starving they resorted to eating the passengers that had died in order to survive.

While they were stuck in the Andes the survivors discovered a radio where they heard a report that the Chilean government had called off the search effort and 18 days after the crash the survival group were hit by an avalanche. This led to the deaths of eight people and their shelter almost being completely covered by snow, and prompted them to make plans to head out and look for help.

Two of the survivors, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, began the arduous journey to find help. They climbed up the mountain they had crashed into and then began the descent from the other side until, on 20 December, they saw signs of human life. The next day they came across three men who they told about the crash, and of their fellow 14 survivors who were still stuck at the crash site.

Read more: Society of the Snow, review: a wrenching, deeply harrowing saga of life, death and the unthinkable (The Telegraph, 3-min read)

The pair were helped by those nearby and mountain police and rescue helicopters arrived to verify their story before heading out in search of the remaining survivors. The rescue mission finally took place on 22 December.

Where are the survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash now?

Upon their rescue, the survivors of the crash became instant celebrities, and those that survived went on to establish a foundation called Fundación Viven. Parrado spoke with The Guardian in December 2023, and reflected on what happened after their rescue as he said: "For six months afterwards, we were surrounded by journalists everywhere we went."

The story of the plane crash survivors has been told in multiple ways, but the forthcoming film is based on the book Society of the Snow by Pablo Vierci, a classmate who helped tell their story.

Canessa wrote his own memoir about the experience, saying of the group's decision to resort to cannibalism: “We wondered whether we were going mad even to contemplate such a thing. Had we turned into brute savages? Or was this the only sane thing to do? Truly, we were pushing the limits of our fear.”

Another plane crash survivor, Gustavo Zerbino, has spoken about Society of the Snow, sharing how the book and film helped to finally tell their story the right way. Speaking to Associated Press, Zerbino said of the film's script: “When he showed us the drafts of what he was working on, it sent shivers down our spines; our hearts stopped. I mean, we already saw that it was very real, very powerful, and we saw that there was genius at work.”

Zerbino also explained that the families of those that died at the crash site had never been able to watch a film based on the event, but they have seen Society of the Snow. He explained: "They hadn’t read or watched past books or movies around the event because they didn’t want to suffer. Some did, and others didn’t, and well, they reconciled with the story through this film."

Society of the Snow is out on Netflix now.

Watch the trailer for Society of the Snow: