Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains

Directed by

Gonzalo Arijon

Written by

Gonzalo Arijon

Produced by

Arte, Ethan Productions, La Realidad, ITVS

Docudrama, France, 2007, 112 min

Survival... Why? How?

One of the greatest survival stories of all time is finally told by the survivors themselves, brilliantly crafted by their childhood friend and master filmmaker, Gonzalo Arijon.

If this is a story that you think you know, think again. In October 1972, a rugby team from Uruguay boarded a plane for a game that they would never play. Their plane crashed in the Andes. Miraculously, 16 of the original 45 passengers managed to defy nature and stay alive for 72 days on a frozen glacier, despite brutal conditions. How they did it became a story that shocked the world.

Arijon goes beyond the lurid tale of cannibalism that swept the headlines to discover the essence of this extraordinary human drama. Exceptionally crafted reenactments set the stage for an experiential journey that unlocks the truth of this amazing story. Thirty-five years later, the survivors and their children revisit the crash site known as the Valley of Tears. One by one, they disclose the intimate details of their harrowing experience--including the precise moment when they realized their only hope was to eat human flesh. Recovered photos and footage of their rescue illuminate the interviews with an immediacy that is palpable. Stranded is a profound parable of the human condition, as hauntingly powerful as it is true.

Debate with :

• Kostas Nakissas, pedopsychiatrist, ethnologist; in charge of the medical department of the Rhône House of Adolescents
• Marc Silvera, producer

Know more

Film available on VOD: http://www.artevod.com/programDetails.do?emissionId=2564