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Birds of Passage
Pájaros de verano

Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra  •   Colombia  • ​  2018
125 mins  •  HD  •   M violence, offensive language & sex scenes
​
 ​In Spanish, Wayúunaiki and English, with English subtitles

The ancient traditions of indigenous Wayúu are shaped by an ambitious matriarch seeking to stake a place for her clan in the burgeoning drug economy of the 1970s. 

“A textured and utterly unique re-imagining of the family crime saga” – Sight & Sound
DIRECTORS: Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra
PRODUCERS: Katrin Pors, Cristina Gallego
SCREENPLAY: MaríaCamila Arias, Jacques Toulemonde. Based on an original idea by Cristina Gallego
PHOTOGRAPHY: David Gallego
EDITOR: Miguel Schverdfinger
MUSIC: Leo Heiblum
WITH: Carmiña Martínez (Úrsula), José Acosta (Rapayet), Natalia Reyes (Zaida), Jhon Narváez (Moisés), Greider Meza (Leonídas), José Vicente Cote (Peregrino), Juan Bautista Martínez (Aníbal)

FESTIVALS: Chicago, London, Cairo 2018

REVIEWS

“A vibrant Colombian indigenous culture that’s survived centuries of colonisation takes on the 1970s drug trade… Directors Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego shake off the clichés of crime-war and imperialism and imbue their saga with surreal beauty and the elemental power of ancient proverb. The film’s formidable matriarch knows full well that the young chancer who has courted her daughter could only have paid the outrageous dowry she demanded by selling dope to the gringos. But the seed is sown: insisting traditional honour codes be observed in enriching her clan, she bends her shamanistic authority to building an empire in the desert.”

— Bill Gosden, NZIFF 2018

“This is an absolutely extraordinary film… You do not have to have Wayúu ancestry, or any connection to the region to understand the broader implications of this epic story of haunted druglords and ruthless power grabs that are partly predicated on traditional beliefs and shibboleths. Guerra and Gallego’s film is no dusty period piece, it is wildly alive, yet it reminds us that no matter how modern we are, there are ancient songs our forebears knew whose melodies still rush in our blood.”

— Jessica Kiang, The Playlist


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

Wellington   
Monday, 8 March, 6:15pm

​Nelson   
Tuesday, 16 March, 6:00pm

​
Auckland   
Monday, 29 March, 6:15pm

Whanganui     
Monday, 12 April, 7.00pm

Canterbury  

Monday, 3 May, 7.00pm 

Carterton     
Friday 14 May,, 7.00pm

Dunedin     
Wednesday, 2 June,, 7.30pm

Queenstown    
Tuesday, 6 July, 8.15pm

Tauranga     
Tuesday, 20 July, 6.00pm

SOUTH AMERICAN CINEMA >> ​

Film Societies of Aotearoa New Zealand

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New Zealand Federation of Film Societies  |  PO Box 9544, Te Aro, Wellington, NZ  
Phone: +64 4 385 0162  |  Fax: +64 4 801 7304  |  Email: 
michael@nziff.co.nz
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2021 SEASON
    • SPIKE LEE
    • SOUTH AMERICAN CINEMA
    • RUSSIAN CINEMA
    • CONTEMPORARY WORLD
    • CLASSIC & CULT
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CONNECTIONS
    • GERMAN CINEMA
    • TILDA
    • KIAROSTAMI
    • MIDDLE EASTERN CINEMA
    • SPACES & PLACES