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Birds of Passage
Pájaros de verano
directed by Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra
Colombia | 2018 | 135min
Drama
Trailer
Press
- « Les plus beaux films sont ceux qui se déploient lentement et deviennent. »
- « It’s powerfully affecting fare; elegiac, evocative and profoundly cinematic. »
- On pourrait retrouver le film à Cannes, trois ans après avoir découvert sa superbe Étreinte du serpent à la Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (nommé par la suite aux Oscars).
- The lavishly shot “Birds of Passage,” which marks Guerra’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent,” takes place in Colombia in the 1970s, when the demand for marijuana hits Colombia, quickly turning farmers into seasoned businessmen.
Synopsis
The origins of the Colombian drug trade, through the epic story of an indigenous Wayuu family that becomes involved in the booming business of selling marijuana to American youth in the 1970s. When greed, passion and honour collide, a fratricidal war breaks out that will put their lives, their culture and their ancestral traditions at stake.
- Screenplay:
- Maria Camila Arias, Jacques Toulemonde
- Cinematography:
- David Gallego
- Sound:
- Claus Lynge, Carlos García
- Edit:
- Miguel Schverdfinger
- Music:
- Leonardo Heiblum
- Cast:
- MartÃnez Carmiña, Cotes José Vicente, Juan Martinez, Narváez Jhon, Acosta José, Reyes Natalia
- Production Company:
- Blond Indian Films, Snowglobe Films, Ciudad Lunar Producciones, Pimienta Films, Bord Cadre films
Gallery
Director's statement
When we created _Birds of Passage_, we wanted to tell the origin story of Colombia’s drug trade not as a crime thriller, but as a family tragedy rooted in the Wayuu community. By structuring the film in chapters inspired by classical tragedy, we explored how ambition and wealth disrupt ancestral codes and spiritual balance. The desert landscape became a witness to both prosperity and destruction. **The film ultimately reflects** that when tradition is sacrificed for power, the consequences ripple across generations. Through ritual, silence, and escalating conflict, we sought to portray how cultural identity can fracture under the pressure of modern greed.