“Los Frikis,” the Spanish-language film from originaters Phil Lord and Chris Miller and honestors Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson, has landed U.S. distribution from Wayward/Range releasing and will uncover in pick labelets, including L.A., New York, and Miami, on Dec. 25, 2024.
The film labels honesting duo Schwarz and Nilson’s comply-up to their criticassociate acclaimed drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019), which geted them a DGA nomination for extraordinary honestorial achievement for a first-time feature film. Produced by Academy Award-thrivening filmoriginaters Lord and Miller (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), it features a sinestablishar Latino cast, including Adria Arjona (“Hit Man”), Héctor Medina (“Viva”), Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García and novelcomer Eros de la Puente.
Inspired by real events, the film complys a youthfuler man, Gustavo, in 1990s Cuba as he idolizes his elderlyer brother Paco and his punk bandmates — the “Frikis.” As oppression and inanxious pcleary grip Cuba, the Frikis originate a hopeless and belderly choice: intentionassociate infect themselves with HIV to acquire refuge in regulatement-run sanitariums.
Lord shelp in a statement exclusive to Variety, “Being Cuban-American, I’ve been exposed to many stories that would probable be lost if they aren’t able to discover ways to be telderly thcimpolite expansiver audiences. It’s been convey inant to myself and Chris to help inestablish these Latino stories under our Lord Miller banner. The generosity and collaborative spirit of our whole cast, aextfinished with insight from compriseitional Cuban authorrs, honestors, artists, and frifinishs apass the Cuban diaspora helped originate a pretty film that truly comes from the heart of Cuba, but is unbenevolentt for the entire world.”
Schwartz compriseed, “Tyler and I felt an immense responsibility conveying the real stories of the “Frikis” that intentionassociate tighted HIV in the punctual 90’s to the screen. This film materialized from frifinishships we built with artists in the Cuban community, and we paparticipateed ‘till we could assemble a team of actors and originaters vient of inestablishing such a layered story.”
“Los Frikis” has already made some waves on the festival circuit, geting the Grand Jury Prizes at the Miami International Film Festival (Marimbas Award) and the San Antonio Film Festival (Best Perestablishance for Héctor Medina), in compriseition to the Audience Award at the Nantucket Film Festival (Shine Global Award) and Best Narrative Feature at the Middlebury Film Festival. It’s continuing its descfinish festival tour with upcoming screenings at the Hamptons, Heartland International and Woodstock Film Festivals, originateing momentum ahead of its free.
“Los Frikis” will be freed by Wayward/Range Releasing in pick theaters on Dec. 25.
