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Juan Antonio Bayona Presents BEYOND SOCIETY and Unveils His Commemorative Armchair at the 24th FICM

Gustavo R. Gallardo

Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona presented the miniseries Beyond Society, which examines what happened following the rescue of the survivors of the 1973 Andes plane crash.

Bayona—who directed the acclaimed horror film The Orphanage (2007), co-produced by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro—arrived on the red carpet at the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) alongside director Carlos Torres to unveil what is considered a follow-up to his successful Society of the Snow (2023).

"It consists of three episodes of a television series—you’re going to see a TV series on the big screen, which is wonderful. These three episodes aren't very long; they offer a broader look at what was left out of Society of the Snow—where one tragedy ended, and another began," explained the project's producer.

Explaining the reason for making this second part, Bayona said that the actors spent a lot of time with the survivors and with the relatives of the deceased to embody the characters in the film, "and in some way we decided to return to the mountain."

Carlos Torres expressed his delight at seeing Room 4 at Cinépolis Centro packed to capacity—fitting, given that the series itself begins inside a movie theater. He explained that the title aims to explore the experience of living with—and reflecting upon—the pain of losing a loved one, and how fiction can help us process reality. "Sometimes, cinema and fiction help us better process the reality we live in," he added.

Bayona Unveils His Armchair Bearing His Name at Cinépolis Centro

Daniela Michel, the festival’s founder and general director, presented Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona with a theater armchair bearing his name—a tradition at the FICM to honor cinematic artists from around the world. “I suppose it’s going to be a bottle of tequila, right?” Bayona said jokingly as he unveiled his seat. Then, after thanking the festival for the gesture, he sat down: “Well, I’m going to break it in.”