Spider Thieves

Santiago de Chile, 2005: Avi, Estefany and pregnant Cindy are 13 years old and best friends. They live with their families in “La Toma”, the largest slum on the edge of the Chilean capital. The girls love going to richer districts, strolling through the department stores and sometimes pinching clothes or make-up. Living in this area one day and leaving the poverty, the dirt and the violence of their slum behind is Avi’s greatest dream. When she and her friends stand in front of a noble high-rise building once again, she comes up with an idea. They could climb up the balconies and break into the apartments. The first successful climbing action encourages the girls to regularly burgle the dwellings and live like the rich for a few hours. Soon afterwards there are press and television reports about the mysterious “spider thieves”, and Avi, Estefany and Cindy are celebrated as stars by their friends, to the annoyance of the slum dwellers, who do not want “La Toma” to hit the headlines.