Event

Birds of Passage

From the Oscar®-nominated team behind the genre-defying Embrace of the Serpent, comes an equally audacious saga centered on the Wayúu indigenous people during a crucial period in recent Colombian history. Torn between his desire to become a powerful man and his duty to uphold his cultures values, Rapayet (José Acosta) enters the drug trafficking business in the 1970s and finds quick success despite his tribes matriarch Ursulas (Carmiña Martínez) disapproval. Ignoring ancient omens, Rapayet and his family get caught up in a conflict where honor is the highest currency and debts are paid with blood. A sprawling epic about the erosion of tradition in pursuit of material wealth, Birds of Passage is a visually striking exploration of loyalty, greed, and the voracious nature of change.

"An epic and wholly original take on the cartel genre, a critique of capitalism that gains in depth and emotion by daring to begin from a place that isnt simply outside of drug violence, but of capitalism itself." Cinema Scope

"A riot of sound, color and widescreen imagery, courtesy of cinematographer David Gallego (who shot the monochrome Embrace of the Serpent and Rungano Nyonis I Am Not A Witch, another apt frame of reference), the insights into the destabilizing impact of outside influences feel both credible and prescient." Jason Wood, Mubi

"Guerra and Gallegos 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." The Playlist

"One could draw a delicate correspondence between the fate of the characters in Birds of Passageculturally demolished by the search of profitand the film itself, though the import of American filmic models undeniably enriches the movies expressive and political vigor." Film Comment