Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Summary:
Three years after his SXSW debut feature PROMEDIO ROJO, Chilean prodigy director Nicolás López returns with SANTOS, a wild, sweeping tale of comic book nerds versus superheroes in a battle for the future of mankind. Think Ultraman with a Latin American brain transplant. From the producers of SIN CITY and THE ORPHANAGE, visual effects by Troublemaker Studios.

Full Description:
When Nicolás López first visited Austin in 2005 with his debut feature PROMEDIO ROJO, he implored his idol, legendary Austin producer Elizabeth Avellan to watch the nerd-centric high school romantic comedy (with a lead character named Roberto Rodriquez, natch). She was immediately captivated, both with the film and the spirited filmmaker. So much so that she eventually agreed to have Troublemaker oversee many of the CGI special effects for his ambitious follow-up project: SANTOS.

The story begins in flashback, with two young (again) comic-obsessed boys on their shared birthday as they are treated to a song-and-dance routine by a plus size Ultraman-esque impersonator named Gigaman. Strange coincidences mounnt on this fateful day: a freak car accident nearly crushes their rotund entertainer, a blisteringly-close comet blazes across the sky, and in the ensuing chaos, boyhood pals Salvador Santos (Javier Gutiérrez) and Arturo Antares (Leonardo Sbaraglia) discover that the comet may have actually unlocked latent superpowers.

Flash-forward to modern times. Salvador and Arturo are now comic-book producers, successful entrepreneurs on the brink of making it big. Strange things, however, are once again brewing: their childhood friends are dying in freak accidents, Arturo is morphing into a rather unlikable megalomaniac, and the same comet that sparked so much chaos in their childhood is set to return in a matter of days.

In production for nearly three years, Nicólas López's film explodes off the screen with raw nerd-energy. With a complex plot that encompasses fanboys, superheroes, feces-addicted senseis (aka Antropomosco), homoerotic sidekicks, alternate universes and a plot to bring about the destruction of mankind, SANTOS is ambitious to say the least. Full of the same raw energy, charm and bubbling creativity that first drew Elizabeth Avellan to the director, SANTOS should prove to be a strong contender for this year's Fantastic Fest audience award. We are honored to be presenting the world premiere of SANTOS, in Austin, Texas, a town that after last year's MIRAGEMAN success is proving to be an unofficial cinematic sister city to Santiago, Chile. (Tim League)

Director Nicólas López will be live in person to present this film and will answer questions following the screening.