Antonio Banderas Film 'The 33' Will Highlight Christian Faith of Trapped Chilean Miners

By Timothy Yap Aug 09, 2015 11:14 AM EDT

The 33 (Spanish: Los 33) is a 2015 Chilean-American biographical disaster-survival drama film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Mikko Alanne and José Rivera. The upcoming movie will feature the miners turning to God in prayer. The film is based on the real events of 2010 mining disaster, in which a group of thirty-three miners were trapped inside the San José Mine in Chile for more than two months. The film stars Antonio Banderas as Mario "Super Mario" Sepúlveda, who sent videos to the rescuers to notify them about the miners' condition.

A new trailer for the upcoming film "The 33," tells the true story of 33 Chilean miners who were trapped over 2,000 feet underground for 69 days in 2010, provides a glimpse of how the faith of the survivors will be central to their dramatic story.While trapped underground, the miners turned to prayer.

"We can say a prayer together," says one of the trapped miners, while another responds, "I don't know the words." The first miner answers, "God doesn't care."

The miners had only about three days worth of food and drink if they rationed it to one another. After their rescue, the group recalled how God had performed various miracles to keep them alive while they were trapped below the surface.

Antonio Banderas, who is portraying Mario "Super Mario" Sepúlveda, is the public face of accident who sent videos to the rescuers to update them on the miners' condition. The actual Sepúlveda has expressed his enthusiasm and approval towards having Banderas in the role. Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro and US actor Martin Sheen will also star. Santoro plays Florencio Ávalos, the second-in-command in the group of trapped miners and the first to be rescued, while Sheen will play the father of Mario Sepúlveda.

On June 17, 2013, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez has joined to lead the cast of the film but later left due to scheduling conflicts with American Idol. She will be replaced in the strong female central role by Juliette Binoche.

On January 10, 2014 Cote de Pablo joined the cast of the film, she will play a wife of one of the trapped miners. On January 27, 2014, Gabriel Byrne joined the cast of the film, to play the role of Andre Sougarret, the engineering genius who masterminded the miraculous rescue of the 33 trapped miners. Next day on 28 January, Bob Gunton joined the cast of the Chilean miner filming currently shooting in Colombia, he'll play the role of Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera.

Producer Mike Medavoy, who also produced "Apocalypse Now," has worked with the miners, their families, and those involved to put the film together.On August 13, 2014, it was announced that The 33 will be the first film to receive the Colombian Film Commission's incentive, which includes 40% for film services and 20% for film logistics services of the amount spent in the country.

On April 28, 2015, Alcon Entertainment acquired North American and the majority of international distribution rights to The 33, with Warner Bros. to distribute it. On the same day, Warner Bros, where Alcon has its output deal, set the film's release date for November 13, 2015.