EXCLUSIVE: We have your first look at Between the Rains, the documentary set in Northern Kenya that will hold its world premiere in June at the Tribeca Festival.
The film directed by Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira tells the coming-of-age story of Kole, a shepherd boy “caught within a traditional culture that is a casualty of climate change.”
“I wish my path led to a different life,” Kole says in the trailer, “but my older brother tells me it’s not good to have childish dreams.”
Between the Rains was filmed over the course of four consecutive years that saw record-low annual precipitation in Northern Kenya, severely impacting the Turkana-Ngaremara community, which collaborated on the making of the film. The lack of rainfall devastates livestock, triggering conflict between peoples in the area.
“When the river is full, life is peaceful and without fear,” Kole says. “But between the rains, the river dries and neighbors become enemies.”
“Unfolding over the course of a prolonged drought,” a description of the film notes, “viewers are pressed deeper into Kole’s inner conflict as he questions not only his own identity as a warrior –– a path that was chosen for him –– but also the erosion of the culture that has shaped every aspect of his life.”
Between the Rains premieres in documentary competition at Tribeca. It’s an acquisition title at the festival, with Emma Simpson of Journeyman Pictures handling sales.
Brown, the co-director, DP and producer of the documentary, “has spent the last decade working as a humanitarian & filmmaker in sub-Saharan Africa,” according to his bio. He was the producer, cinematographer & editor of Kifaru, which won the audience award at Full Frame. His editing work on that film earned him a nomination for the Jackson Wild Media Awards. “Andrew is a proud descendant of Chief Tarhe of the Huron-Wendat (First Nations of Canada). He also is an Adjunct Professor of directing at UNC School of the Arts in the film program,” and he served in the U.S. Army as an enlisted Forward Observer.
Thuranira is a producer, journalist, activist and art teacher based in northern Kenya. “As a journalist and community organizer, Moses has devoted his life to ensuring that the communities in Kenya’s northern region have a voice,” his bio notes. He is currently a fellow in the Kenya Film Commission residency program for Documentary and Feature Films. Both he and Brown are members of the 2022 Points North Fellowship.
Watch the trailer for Between the Rains above.
