Pájaros de verano

Early 1970s: Rapayet — a member of the Wayuu people, an indigenous tribe in arid northern Colombia — has set his sights on beautiful Zaida and wishes to make her his wife. Her mother disapproves of him and will give her consent only if he can raise an impossibly high dowry. Rapayet meets an American student, together they set up a very lucrative drug-trafficking business and the money starts flowing in. The bride price is no longer an issue. But Rapayet who cannot resist the lure of big money starts attracting the attention of the wrong people. He not only puts himself in danger, but his whole community.

Director Ciro Guerra, known for El abrazo de la serpiente, made this multi-awarded feature about the beginnings of Colombia’s large-scale drug trade together with his wife Cristina Gallego. Pájaros de verano is a true gangster film, but above all an indictment against the devastating effects of drug trafficking and greed.