For those of you who love metal and a great documentary, be sure to tune into the 51st annual Nashville Film Festival, screening virtually October 1-7, to watch the MPI-supported feature-length documentary Los Últimos Frikis. 

Directed by MPI filmmaker Nicholas Brennan, Los Últimos Frikis tells the story of Zeus, Cuba’s iconic heavy metal band, and their 30-year fight to be heard. “With this film, the band has taken a risk and trusted me—an outsider, an American—with their story,” said Nicholas. “It’s a balancing act as we share what makes Zeus special in a way that’s understandable to a foreign audience, while also not devastating for the band and their families in Cuba where, as captured in the film, truth often is ‘forbidden.’”

Zeus began more than 30 years ago in Havana at a time when rock music was illegal and rockers were derisively called “los frikis”—the freaks. Fidel Castro’s communist government saw rock and roll as such a capitalist threat that concerts were broken up, vinyl records were destroyed, and long-haired “frikis” were thrown in jail. Lead singer Diony Arce even spent six years in prison at the height of his career. 

This edgy documentary gives a detailed look into Cuba’s #1 hard-rocking heavy metal band as they embark on their first national tour while historic changes sweep the country, forcing the band to confront their biggest fear: silence.

Click here for more details on this 2020 Nashville Film Festival virtual screening.