 birds of passage in the late 1960s the wayuu tribe of northern colombia observe a strict code of familial tradition and sacred ritual outsider rapayet has his sights set on marrying zaida the recently ofage daughter of the clan s formidable matriarch ursula unable to afford the extravagant dowry set by ursula rapayet upgrades from selling coffee to dealing drugs as a means of covering the payment with a new criminal path set ursula becomes complicit in her soninlaw s shady dealings and over the course of the ensuing decade the once humble tribe gradually builds a ruthless empire in the desert film director cristina gallego featured festivals bfi london film festival 