'Between the Rains' documentary to premiere at Africa Climate Week in Kenya

The road to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) kicked off with the Africa Climate Week (ACW) in Nairobi, Kenya on 4th September 2023 (ending on 8th). It is going to run concurrently with the Africa Climate Summit (4th to 6th) in the same country.

ACW 2023 will discuss climate solutions ahead of COP28 in UAE in November-December of this year. ACW and all the Regional Climate Weeks provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, businesses and civil society to exchange on climate solutions, barriers to overcome and opportunities realized in different regions.

'Between the Rains' documentary to premiere at Africa Climate Week in Kenya/COURTESY/BetweenTheRains Pulse

The Weeks consider four major systems-based tracks with a view to providing region-focused contributions to inform the global stocktake in UAE:

Energy systems and industry
Cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport
Land, ocean, food and water
Societies, health, livelihoods, and economies

'Between the Rains' documentary to premiere at Africa Climate Week in Kenya/Courtesy Pulse

'Between the Rains' was filmed over the course of four consecutive years during record-low annual precipitation in northern Kenya. The film is entangled with the real-life stories of the crew members.

"Samuel (producer) has lived in the Turkana pastoral village which we filmed throughout his entire life. Samuel understands the sacrifices many East African pastoral communities are making in an effort to survive and strive in an increasingly challenging climate. Being the brightest student amongst his brothers, Samuel was chosen to leave his village to attend university while his siblings stayed behind to care for his family's livestock to support the cost of his education. Samuel is also the son of Veronica and cousin to Kole, two of the main subjects that we follow.

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Moses (co-director/producer) was born and raised in a neighbouring community within the same region as Ngaremara village. Throughout his childhood, Moses lost his classmates due to the escalating violence that plagued his town. But rather than retaliating or becoming involved in the violence, Moses poured his attention into his school work, believing that his education would be his saving grace. Moses was on track to study film at the University of Nairobi, but after his father was murdered during a tribal conflict, Moses decided to attend college closer to home; studying education and journalism. Along with being a teacher, Moses has founded a youth advocacy network and Isiolo TV - a local news organization that gives voice to local voices.

'Between the Rains' documentary to premiere at Africa Climate Week in Kenya/Pexels Pulse

Andrew (co-director/DP/producer) has been working in sub-Saharan Africa for the last decade initially working with humanitarian and socioeconomic projects and later as a documentary filmmaker. In both fields, he's become keenly aware of how important it is to build local partnerships. So when the producing team and a couple of members of the Ngaremara village came to Andrew with the idea to tell a story from within the pastoral Turkana community, he gladly accepted the invitation to follow and learn from the community.

That being said, this story comes from a very near and dear place to our team. Rather than settling for the basic consent from the participants filmed and the elder council, our team spent a year meeting with every household within Ngaremara village to listen to their perspectives, concerns and input before we began filming. We have invested in building a strong, diverse team where everyone is given an opportunity to add their creative voice. And from that foundation of trust and intentionality, the Ngaremara community has opened their doors for us and given us exclusive access to tell their stories."

The film has received praise from the Tribeca film Festival winning; Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Feature.