Andrew H. Brown, and Moses Thuranira, USA, Kenya 2023

Documentary filmmaking is an ever-evolving medium that provides artists the opportunity to make bold choices and explore their craft in new and exciting ways. A documentary doesn’t have to play by certain rules to be successful, as is evidenced by the Best Documentary Feature Award winner BETWEEN THE RAINS. It’s not hard to understand why this striking film was a jury favorite at the Tribeca Film Festival. Much like HONEYLAND, the 2019 documentary that went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards, this film provides such intimate access to its subjects it’s stunning to think how the filmmakers accomplished it. Filmed over four years BETWEEN THE RAINS documents the lives of the Turkana-Ngaremara community of Northern Kenya as they face a prolonged drought that is threatening their livelihoods and their culture. These tribes, who live off of the land and are utterly dependent on water, are experiencing the acute effects of a warming climate. Co-director Moses Thuranira was born and raised in a neighboring community and has first-hand experience with how these communities are fighting for their survival. While this is a personal story, focusing mainly on its human subjects, it is also a story warning the world about the urgent dangers of climate change and the loss of traditions and culture.

The cinematography, which it also won an award for at the festival, is truly breathtaking. Moving from intimate scenes at night by firelight to sweeping sunrises across the plains of Kenya the camera sheds light on a world that is utterly foreign to most, but deeply human. Sometimes shrouded in shadow, other times squinting into the blinding sun, the members of the Turkana-Ngaremara tribe let the camera be a part of their movements. It’s as if the filmmakers are an extension of the tribe as opposed to an outside observer, which is what makes this film unique and enthralling.

The film’s primary subject is Kole, a young man transitioning from his role as a shepherd boy to a warrior within the tribe. But as Kole struggles with the path that was chosen for him, the tribe faces daily hardships as a result of the drought. Traditionally dry spells are a natural occurrence for the land and the Turkana people adjust to the cycles of nature, but with the rising temperatures and less rain their resources are dwindling and everything about their way of life is now on the brink of going extinct. The people of the tribe speak candidly to the camera about how nature is angry. The god that they worship is the Spirit of Nature and if this spirit gets any angrier nobody is safe. The brutality of this unrelenting force that they worship is also shown through their traditional customs and rites that we see performed time and again. As the elders look for answers in the intestines of their sacrificial goats it is hard not to admire their faith and dedication, but it also raises the question of whether these are just futile practices that feel like inaction. Kole senses the fragility of his tribe's more primitive ways and longs for more of what the world can offer him, but he is also bound to his community. As the film unfolds we watch Kole grapple with his understanding of who he wants to be in the face of the harsh reality of this ever-changing world. (KL)