Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz

Inspired by shocking true events, Los Frikis is a powerful coming-of-age story set in early 1990s Cuba. Gustavo (Eros de la Puente), 18, idolizes his older brother Paco (an astonishing Héctor Medina) and his punk, “Frikis” bandmates. When word reaches the Frikis of a potential reprieve from the effects of the economic crisis that plunged much of the country into poverty, they do the unthinkable: inject themselves with HIV to live at a government-run treatment home.

Anchored by a palpable sense of dread and a youthful spirit of hope, Los Frikis is the latest film from Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, the filmmaking duo behind the breakout 2019 hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. Produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie) and co-starring rising star Adria Arjona, Los Frikis is a brilliant recollection of “Special Period” Cuba.