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Weeded out
Birds of Passage powerfully illustrates how the cannabis trade is wiping out one of Colombia's indigenous peoples, says MARIA DUARTE

Birds of Passage (15)
Directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra

FROM the team behind the Oscar-nominated Embrace of the Serpent comes another bold and ambitious drama which takes a unique look at the birth of the drugs trade in northern Colombia and its brutal effects on an unsuspecting indigenous community.

It examines the devastating impact of savage capitalism endured by a Wayuu family as, corrupted by the wealth and power that the sale of cannabis brings, we witness their rise and fall.

Inspired by true events, the film spans the period from from the 1970s to the 1980s and its five chapters show how its protagonist Rapayet (Jose Acosta) first gets into drugs trafficking when he meets a group of anti-communist US fighters.

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