The Rose Seller (1998)

La vendedora de rosas is a 1998 Colombian film directed by Victor Gaviria. It's an independent film about drugs in Colombia, poverty and the difficult life young children have to suffer in Medellín. The film is based on the fairy tale "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Many of the actors that starred in the film are now dead or in prison. Giovanni Quiroz was murdered in Medellín and Leidy Tabares will be in prison for 26 years for her role in the murder of a taxi driver in Medellín.

Most of the main characters in the movie including Giovanny Rodriguez known as Don Hector in the film, Alex Bedoya known as Milton, and Giovanni Quiroz known as El Zarco (and one of the most iconic characters in the movie), are now dead, either murdered or killed by illness. However, some of them are still alive but living in tough conditions, such as Mileider Gil who entered the world of prostitution few years later after the movie was finished, and the protagonist Leidy Tabares, who is actually in prison for murdering a taxi driver in Medellin.

Synopsis

Le film retrace les événements autour des fêtes de Noël vécus par Monica, fille de treize ans qui vend des roses dans la ville de Medellin. Après la mort de sa mère, Monica fuit à la rue et se jette dans un monde criminel de drogue, d'alcool et de prostitution, gagnant sa vie comme marchande de roses avec ses amies. La veille de Noël, un ivre lui offre une montre. Reconnaissante et y soupçonnant quelque don du ciel, elle l'utilise tous les jours -- ignorant, cependant, que le colifichet tramera les circonstances qui finiront par mettre fin à sa vie.