RAI Film Festival / VOD on Vimeo 2019 – Thank You For The Rain
Five years ago Kisilu, a Kenyan farmer, started to use his camera to capture the life of his family, his village and the damages of climate change. When a violent storm throws him and a Norwegian filmmaker together we see him transform from a father, to community leader to an activist on the global stage.
Interview with Writer/Director Julia Dahr
Watch Thank You For The Rain on Vimeo on demand and dafilms
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to tell the untold story about climate change and show its effect on people living in the Global South. The people who fully depend on the food they grow, they are the first to be hit by climate change and they are affected the most, even though they’ve done the least to contribute to our changing climate.
Eight years ago I went to Kenya with this in mind, and I was so lucky to meet the farmer Kisilu. We connected immediately, and it turned out we had the same goal. We wanted to show the world how climate change has a direct impact on human lives, and how we must unite over continents in order to fight climate change.
By the time the film was done it was as much his film as it was mine.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Thank You For The Rain is important, not only because it takes a new and different approach to climate change, but also because it tells the story about a proactive farmer in Kenya, and do so through collaboration with Kisilu. Through an intimate video diary that strips away the layers between the family and the audience, it allows Kisilu’s point of view and his inner reflections to be at the center of the film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
What happens to us when an external factor like climate change threatens to destroy everything we have? Thank You For The Rain examines the psychological aspects of life at the frontline of climate change.
Climate change is not only about “harvests or no harvest, food or no food”, it is also a catalyst that puts extra pressure on many of the universal inner struggle and thoughts, like “how to be a good father and husband?” The film is special in the way that it effectively shows this.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
In the process of making the film, we were told a number of times it would be impossible to make a character-driven documentary about how human lives are affected by climate change. It’s not tangible enough, you can’t film it and build a conflict around it, people would say. It was certainly a challenge, but I believe we have managed to prove the sceptics wrong.
The original idea was to film Kisilu for one month, but it ended up becoming a collaboration of more than five years. We followed Kisilu on his journey from small scale farmer to global climate activist, and as we did the weather became more and more unpredictable and extreme. We filmed Kisilu in years of floods, and in years of drought. He worried about getting enough food for his family and worked hard to send his children to school. When Kisilu’s home was destroyed in a storm, the turning point came, for Kisilu personally, and for the film. Kisilu decided to put all in his power to fight climate change, learn how to adapt to the unpredictable weather and spread the knowledge. We followed him from the start as he formed self-help groups in the local community, all the way to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, where he spoke to top international politicians.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Through more than 200 screenings in over 50 countries so far, we have seen how Thank You For The Rain builds empathy in the audiences, immersing them fully in Kisilu’s situation, prompting them to engage and take action.
Students, teachers, decision-makers and farmers alike see the film and form a personal bond to Kisilu. One student said after a screening: “I feel like I am attached to the family. I grew very fond of them”.
A major focus we had was to explain the gravity of the situation, and at the same time avoid the pit of depression and despair (which is indeed the feeling you are left with when you dig deep into the climate crisis). That’s why we have focused on the moments of warmth and humor, just as much as the moments of challenge. It was important to demonstrate solutions, and not just as a “closing chapter” like many other films with similar topics, but throughout the film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
In 2017 we started our impact campaign, using the film as a tool for climate justice. We have now received a grant from Climate Justice Resilience Fund to further expand the work of Kisilu and his community in promoting climate resilient farming in East Africa, as well as Kisilu’s international work as a spokesperson and representative for communities affected by climate change. We would love to hear from anyone who is interested in spreading Kisilu’s perspectives, either it’s by hosting a school screening, spreading Kisilu’s story on social media or inviting him to a policy-making event!
Since the film was released much has happened in Kisilu’s community, and Kisilu has shared his story at international events such as TEDGlobal, the EAT Conference, and the UN climate change negotiations. The film has been screened to thousands of school students as well as being actively used by NGOs.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would love to get in touch with anyone who would like to set up a film screening, inviting Kisilu to an event, or in other ways spreading his perspectives: teachers, activists, NGOs, journalists, companies, farmers or policymakers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The impact campaign is extremely important to us. After spending seven years telling the story that we care deeply about, we need to make sure this untold story has a wide outreach.
We want Thank You For The Rain to reach beyond the core audiences at festivals, NGOs and among environmental activists. Kisilu’s story can be used as a tool to change hearts and minds, and we hope the film can reach the people who normally wouldn’t watch this type of documentary.
We believe the story of Kisilu can create a great impact when the audience is equipped with the right tools after a screening. On our website, we have a guide to what actions people can take, how they can start a local movement, get organized, vote for greener parties, support Kisilu’s work etc.. We also have educational toolkits and discussion guides available on our website.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Climate change is unfair. How can we make sure that our response to it is fair? Millions of people are forced to give up their livelihood and leave their homes because of climate change. These are often the ones who did the least to cause climate change and are at the same time the ones who are the furthest removed from power and decision making. To me, this is one of the biggest injustices of our time.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Differ Media is producing and developing a number of projects. Our goal is to create stories for change, and that means the job is only half-done when our films have been released. We are continuously working on the impact campaign for Thank You For The Rain and for our other documentaries The Dry Valley (about how the Roma people see Scandinavia) and When Pride Came To Town (about Norway's first rural Pride parade).
As we speak, our short documentary about climate change and food production is in the edit. The film follows a drought struck Norwegian farmer as he travels to Malawi to learn how farmers have adapted to the changing climate. This is in many ways a continuation of our work with Thank You For The Rain. And in April, we will release the documentary web series Mission Impact, about three young people fighting for a better and more sustainable future.
Interview: April 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Thank You For The Rain
Five years ago Kisilu, a Kenyan farmer, started to use his camera to capture the life of his family, his village and the damages of climate change. When a violent storm throws him and a Norwegian filmmaker together we see him transform from a father, to community leader to an activist on the global stage.
Length: 1:27:00
Director: Julia Dahr
Producer: Hugh Hartford
Writer: Julia Dahr
About the writer, director and producer:
Director JULIA DAHR is a Norwegian multi award-winning documentary director that is motivated by telling intimate, character-led stories that highlight important human rights and sustainable development issues. She is a co-founder of the Oslo-based production company Differ Media. Julia has been listed by Forbes as one of the top 30 under 30-year-olds that is ‘driving and defining the world of media’. She has won the One World Media Award and been nominated for best student film at the Grierson Awards.
HUGH HARTFORD is a producer/director whose credits include the feature films Thank You For The Rain co-produced with ZDF for ARTE's 'Primetime' feature slot and Ping Pong co-produced by BRITDOC for Film4. His love of feature documentary started in 2003 when he 'shared' a Sheffield DocFest pass with a friend and watched Peter Kerekes's 66 Seasons on the big screen. He’s had films released theatrically worldwide and screened documentaries at Hotdocs, CPH Docs, DokFest, Palm Springs, Zanzibar IFF; the UN, The Hague, and the UK Parliament.
Looking for: journalists
Facebook: Thank You For The Rain
Twitter: @KisiluMovie
Hashtags used: #kisilumovie #thankyoufortherain
Website: thankyoufortherain.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Banyak Films, Differ Media, co-production with ZDF-Arte
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Michigan State University - 23 April
Melkweg Amsterdam - 5 June