Like or Die

Like or Die
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Carlos Santos Campos
Written by	Carlos Santos Campos
Produced by	Fernanda Meza
Starring	Mónica Huarte
Cinematography	David Trejo
Edited by	Carlos Santos Campos
Music by	Tomás Barreiro
Production company	Sastre Films
Distributed by	Cinépolis Distribución
Release dates	October 23, 2023 (2023-10-23) (FICM) November 2, 2023 (2023-11-02) (Mexico)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Mexico
Language	Spanish
Box office	$1,3 million[1][2]

Like or Die (Spanish: Señora influencer, lit. 'Mrs. Influencer') is a 2023 Mexican satirical black comedy psychological horror 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]

Plot

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. During 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. Aware of how sick and unstable Fátima was, her mother 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.

Cast

The actors participating in this film are:^[8]

• Mónica Huarte as Fátima Ferreira
  • Renata Molinar as Kid Fátima
• Diana Carreiro as Camila
• Memo Dorantes as FélixPerro
• Macarena García Romero as Sofi Fojo
• Leonardo Daniel as Joaquín Ferreira
• Bárbara Lombardo as Jackie Lombardo
• Mau Nieto as Paco
• Daniela Peña as Lulu
• Sandra Burgos as Fatima's mom
• Christian Uribe as Roberto Ortiz
• Michelle Durán as Diana Bichota
• Ángel Escarcega as "Machete69"
• Michael Cohn as Juan Treviño
• Alejandro de la Madrid as Imaginary Boyfriend
• Paola Rojas as News Anchor

Release

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]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2023	19th Canacine Awards	Best Film	Like or Die	Nominated	[11][12]
		Best Director	Carlos Santos Campos	Nominated
		Best Actress	Mónica Huarte	Nominated
		Best Newcomer - Male	Memo Dorantes	Nominated
		Best Newcomer - Female	Macarena García	Nominated
2024	49th Diosas de Plata	Best Film	Like or Die	Nominated	[13][14]
		Best Director	Carlos Santos Campos	Nominated
		Best Actress	Mónica Huarte	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Leonardo Daniel	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Diana Carreiro	Nominated
		Best Newcomer - Female	Macarena García Romero	Won
		Best Actor in a Minor Role	Mau Nieto	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Carlos Santos Campos	Nominated
		Best Music	Tomás Barreiro	Won
		Best Original Song	"Nada" by Leonel García	Nominated
	66th Ariel Awards	Best Actress	Mónica Huarte	Nominated	[15][16]

References

1. "Señora Influencer". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
2. "Señora Influencer - Financial Information Mexico". The Numbers. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
3. Esparza, Kike (2023-11-13). "Señora Influencer, la comedia mexicana que se sale del molde". Rosa Distrito (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
4. Bau, Andrea (2023-11-10). "Señora Influencer, la película mexicana que parece una producción de A24". ELLE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
5. Bárcenas, Felipe. "Tras 27 años de carrera, Mónica Huarte protagoniza Señora influencer". El Sol de Morelia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
6. Zubiri, Ray (2023-11-05). "Y llegó la Señora Influencer". El Heraldo de Puebla (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
7. Cruz, Juan José (2023-11-02). "Señora influencer: Estreno, trailer, reparto y todo sobre la película mexicana". Cine PREMIERE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
8. "Señora Influencer: Tráiler, sinopsis, reparto y lo que dice la crítica de esta joya del cine mexicano". Bolavip Spoiler (in Spanish). 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
9. Cueva, Álvaro (2023-10-22). "Dame like, Señora influencer". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
10. Medel, Brenda (2023-11-02). "Tráiler y estreno de Señora influencer, del director de Chilangolandia". Paloma & Nacho (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
11. Federal, Fideicomiso para la Promoción y Desarrollo del Cine Mexicano en el Distrito. "Premios CANACINE 2023: Esta es la lista completa de nominados". Fideicomiso para la Promoción y Desarrollo del Cine Mexicano en el Distrito Federal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
12. Montoya, María (2023-12-30). "CANACINE premia a Radical como la mejor película; Eugenio Derbez, el mejor actor". TVNotas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-27.
13. "Listo de nominados a la 49 entrega de Diosas de Plata al cine mexicano". PECIME (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
14. "Premios Diosas de Plata 2024: Estos son los nominados para su edición 49°". Fideicomiso para la Promoción y Desarrollo del Cine Mexicano en el Distrito Federal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
15. Clemens, Segura; Kalet, Johan (19 June 2024). "Premios Ariel 2024: Lista completa de nominados". Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
16. Caballero, Jorge (8 September 2024). "Tótem arrasa en los premios Ariel". La Jornada (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2024.

External links

• Like or Die at IMDb