“Los Frikis,” the Spanish-language film from producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller and directors Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson, has landed U.S. distribution from Wayward/Range releasing and will open in select markets, including L.A., New York, and Miami, on Dec. 25, 2024.
The film marks directing duo Schwarz and Nilson’s follow-up to their critically acclaimed drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019), which earned them a DGA nomination for outstanding directorial achievement for a first-time feature film. Produced by Academy Award-winning filmmakers Lord and Miller (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), it features a stellar Latino cast, including Adria Arjona (“Hit Man”), Héctor Medina (“Viva”), Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García and newcomer Eros de la Puente.
Inspired by true events, the film follows a young man, Gustavo, in 1990s Cuba as he idolizes his older brother Paco and his punk bandmates — the “Frikis.” As oppression and extreme poverty grip Cuba, the Frikis make a desperate and bold choice: intentionally infect themselves with HIV to gain refuge in government-run sanitariums.