Days of the Whale

July 22, 2020

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Cristina and Simon are two young graffiti artists who paint Medellín, the Colombian city that they live in. They defy a criminal gang when they decide to paint over a threat, written on a wall, with a mural of a whale.

78 minutes. Not rated. Directed by Catalina Arroyave Restrepo. 

Set in the bustling city of Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city, Days of the Whale follows Cristina (Laura Tobón) and Simon (David Escallón), two young graffiti artists who tag spots around where they live. Simón comes from a more working-class background and lives with his grandmother. They are part of an art collective that is the center for a group of young revolutionaries. Cristina is a college kid from an upper-middle-class family who finds herself living with her dad because her mother is a journalist who moved to Spain when threatened by the city’s criminal street gangs. The love that unites them, and their friendship with other artists keeps Cristina from leaving the city as tensions rise when Cristina and Simon’s rebellious, restless spirit leads them to defy this same gang by painting a mural over a threatening tag at the center.

Official website

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