It all started in Havana. For filmmakers Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson — the directorial duo behind 2019’s Shia LaBeouf-starring underdog hit “The Peanut Butter Falcon” — their next project came through word of mouth.
Schwartz says his and Nilson’s interest in telling the story of “Los Frikis” originated long before “The Peanut Butter Falcon” had even been released. He recalls meeting a group of Cubans in the country’s capital and falling in love with the Latin American spirit. It was through these friendships with actors and artists in the Cuban community, Schwartz says, that he and Nilson learned the true story of “Los Frikis” — a group of impoverished punk rockers in 1990s Cuba who intentionally injected themselves with HIV as a means of securing food, shelter and freedom in a government-run sanatorium.
Despite his desire to bring Latin American stories across the border, Schwartz wasn’t sure a Spanish-language film could be financed and produced by a U.S. company. However, the buzz surrounding Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar-winning “Roma” in 2018 — which follows the life of a middle-class family’s maid in 1970s Mexico City — gave him confidence for the potential of “Los Frikis,” which has gone on to land U.S. distribution from Wayward/Range.
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From there, Schwartz and Nilson began assembling the right creative team for the project — starting with Academy Award-winning producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Lord said that, as a Cuban-American, he has been exposed to many stories that would likely be lost if they aren’t able to find ways to be told through wider audiences.
“There’s an opportunity here to tell this story really authentically and in the Spanish language and still have it seen worldwide,” Schwartz says of his thought process. “We wanted to tell it in the native language and didn’t even believe that was possible until we saw ‘Roma’ and the way it was embraced.”
Héctor Medina, who plays Paco in the film, says working class families have often been victimized by the Cuban government and he thinks this film elevates their position in society through a story of freedom.
“To me, the hero of the movie is the brother who chooses family,” Medina told Variety in Spanish. “This family we form in the sanatorium is a way of finding freedom. There’s always a path to love.”
At a special screening of “Los Frikis” hosted at Creative Artists Agency last month, Eros De La Puente — who plays Gustavo — revealed during a Q&A that prior to the film’s premiere, he had never been inside a movie theater before.
Co-director Tyler Nilson, left, Rebecca Karch, Eros de la Puente, Hector Medina, and co-director Michael Schwartz at a Film Independent screening of “Los Frikis.”
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“There’s a lot of things he hadn’t experienced, that many of these actors hadn’t experienced, and the way they respond to it was really interesting to hold space for,” Schwartz says. “It was not until that moment where we’re standing in Coral Gables cinema in Miami, and (Eros) goes, ‘I’ve never seen a movie in a movie theater before’ and then we got to watch him watch a movie on the big screen for the first time, and he was the main character.”
Nilson recalls when the cast and crew shot in the Dominican Republic, the actors were brought to a 7-Eleven-sized grocery store. The majority of the cast, he recalled, had never seen so much food before in their lives.
De La Puente, Schwartz explained, had never eaten pasta before. The film’s lead went on to fill up a suitcase with 50 pounds of pasta to bring back home to Cuba.
Schwartz explains that he and Nilsen are drawn tonally to themes of loss. He highlighted the combination of comedic and dramatic elements in “Los Frikis” as creative priorities for the filmmakers, emphasizing how he finds it difficult to discover characters if a story maintains a dark tone over the entirety of its runtime.
“If a movie stays intense the whole time, it can feel punishing,” Schwartz says. “There’s even a block emotionally that without laughter, we can’t really come to know these characters.”
Arjona says the heavy subject matter of “Los Frikis” is complemented by the comedy and joy imbued into the narrative.
She adds that the film encompasses a number of different love stories, with the relationship between the two brothers at its emotional core.
“There’s a true poesy and beauty in the desperation to find freedom and to find it within your own country,” Arjona says. “We do that in life.”
Schwartz adds that he took joy from the experiences of many of the Cuban actors in “Los Frikis.” Cast members often framed their lack of access to food in a positive perspective by focusing on their access to songs, art and friendship, he recalls.
“Even in the most difficult circumstances, there’s family, there’s love, there’s humor,” Schwartz says. “What do we do that keeps us human and connected within any of these different circumstances? Because no matter what country you’re in, those are the things that keep a community.”
Arjona remembers how the actors stayed in a hotel throughout the shoot in the Dominican Republic and, for many members of the cast, it was the first time they had ever been outside of Cuba. The “Hit Man” star says she found herself taking on a maternal role in ensuring her cast mates were enduring mentally.
“From day one, we all understood that we were a part of something a lot bigger than us,” Arjona says. “That first script sort of bonded us together, like ‘We’ve got to make this great.’”
Check out an exclusive clip from “Los Frikis” below: