| Like or Die | |
| Director: | Carlos Santos Campos |
| Producer: | Fernanda Meza |
| Starring: | Mónica Huarte |
| Cinematography: | David Trejo |
| Editing: | Carlos Santos Campos |
| Music: | Tomás Barreiro |
| Studio: | Sastre Films |
| Distributor: | Cinépolis Distribución |
| Runtime: | 110 minutes |
| Country: | Mexico |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Gross: | $1,3 million[1] [2] |
Like or Die (Spanish: Señora influencer,) is a 2023 Mexican satirical black comedy thriller film directed, written and edited by Carlos Santos Campos.[3] [4] It stars Mónica Huarte[5] accompanied by Macarena García, Diana Carreiro, Bárbara Lombardo, Mau Nieto, Daniela Peña, Leonardo Daniel and Memo Dorantes.[6] It is about a middle-aged woman who is obsessed to become an influencer on social media, which attracts haters and opportunists.[7]
Fátima Ferreira is an intellectually disabled woman who lives in Mexico City with her wealthy but distant father, movie director Joaquín Ferreira. After being banned from the orphanage she volunteered at for having struck a girl, Fátima steals money from her father to buy herself a cellphone. Having been sheltered all her life, Fátima's quickly awed by social media. She comes across Argentine Lifestyle Influencer Jackie Lombardo, and shallow Sofi Fojo. Using stolen money from her father, Fátima attends one of Jackie's seminars; in one session, she breaks down and reveals that her mother killed herself when she was little —something she partly blames herself for— and that her father gives her pills for an unnamed disorder. Through toxic positivity and encouragement from Jackie, Fátima decides she too wants to be an influencer. She creates social media accounts, where she repeats Jackie's messages of positivity and empowerment. Fátima's childlike demeanor and awkward responses during a livestream quickly go viral, bringing her both support and negativity; a user by the name of FelixPerro constantly leaves offensive messages on all of Fátima's posts.
As her social media presence and popularity begin to grow, Fátima catches the eye of the opportunistic Sofi and her best friend Cami. They decide to use Fátima's newfound fame to boost their own careers, and take her out to a nightclub where she gets drunk and hallucinates her father coming to pick her up and publicly berate her. The next day, Sofi and Cami teach Fátima about fandoms and "haters", and take her to a photoshoot where she is given the monicker "señora influencer" ("mrs. influencer"). Sofi and Cami begin to genuinely bond with Fátima, going on trips and attending events together. One night, Fátima visits Sofi, who was struck by her violent boyfriend Juan during an argument. Fátima livestreams from Sofi's kitchen, inadvertently revealing her situation with Juan. Sofi gets upset, calls Fátima a slur and tells her they were only using her. In a psychotic breakdown, Fátima stabs and kills Sofi. When Juan comes back and finds her body, Fátima kills him as well. Due to his past history of violent behavior, Juan is assumed to be Sofi's killer. Having tricked everyone into believing she fought Juan off and killed him in self-defense, Fátima's hailed a hero by the media. She attends a late-night talk show where she awkwardly sings a self-penned love song to roaring applause. Her fame continues to grow, but her mental health worsens and she becomes more and more unstable.
After suffering a stroke, Joaquín reveals to Fátima that she is in fact responsible for her mother's death; her mother was aware of how sick and unstable her daughter was, and wanted to commit her. During an argument while driving, Fátima yanked the steering wheel from her mother, causing the car to crash. Later, Fátima's confronted by Jackie, who threatens to sue her for having stolen her content and passed it off as hers. As Fátima walks away, Jackie calls her a "crazy bitch"; later that night, Fátima attacks Jackie at her hotel. Having finally snapped, Fátima buys a taser and begins stalking her "haters" —those who have offended her online— including FelixPerro and a girl named Diana. She kidnaps them and holds them captive in her father's basement, forcing them to sing along to her songs. One of the "haters" is killed by Fátima for mispronouncing the lyrics to a song. Cami, who has grown suspicious of Fátima, goes to the house and discovers the kidnapped victims; Fátima knocks her out and forces her to watch the singing, which is being livestreamed and watched by millions. Fátima sets the house on fire with the intent of killing Cami and the others, but in a moment of lucidity, unties them and lets them go. As he leaves, FélixPerro knocks Fátima out, leaving her to die in the fire.
Everyone leaves relatively unharmed, cashing in on their newfound fame and notoriety. Fátima's followers and detractors grow to massive international proportions; some proclaim her a martyr for cyberbullying, while others deem her psychotic and a monster. Her father reveals that he plans to do a movie based on his daughter. Some time later, a woman in Buenos Aires drops her son off at a daycare, where she's greeted by Fátima. She escaped the house and left Jackie, whom she kidnapped, to die in the fire. Having stolen her passport and documents, Fátima —now living as Jackie— sings along to her song with the rest of the children.
The actors participating in this film are:[8]
Like or Die had its world premiere on October 23, 2023, at the 21st Morelia International Film Festival.[9] It was commercially released on November 2, 2023, in Mexican theaters.[10]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 19th Canacine Awards | Best Film | Like or Die | [11] [12] | |
| Best Director | Carlos Santos Campos | ||||
| Best Actress | Mónica Huarte | ||||
| Best Newcomer - Male | Memo Dorantes | ||||
| Best Newcomer - Female | Macarena García | ||||
| 2024 | 49th Diosas de Plata | Best Film | Like or Die | [13] [14] | |
| Best Director | Carlos Santos Campos | ||||
| Best Actress | Mónica Huarte | ||||
| Best Supporting Actor | Leonardo Daniel | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Diana Carreiro | ||||
| Best Newcomer - Female | Macarena García Romero | ||||
| Best Actor in a Minor Role | Mau Nieto | ||||
| Best Original Screenplay | Carlos Santos Campos | ||||
| Best Music | Tomás Barreiro | ||||
| Best Original Song | "Nada" by Leonel García |