“It is the greatest injustice of our time and age that those who did nothing to cause climate change are first and hardest hit, whilst we who have done most to cause the greenhouse effect are hit last and least. In Thank You For The Rain we see the frontlines in the battle against climate change. The filmmakers let us witness from close up how a poor and vulnerable Kenyan family of farmers are struggling with droughts and floods. For them climate change is already a battle of life or death. Thank You For The Rain should be a wakeup call for us all.”
- Quote by Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, 2003-06. Co-chair of the UN High Level Panel for Global Climate Services, 2009-10.
About the Film
‘Thank You For The Rain’ (2017) is a feature documentary that tells the story of Kisilu Musya and his fight at the frontline of climate change over the course of five years. The film has been screened in cinemas and festivals in over 20 countries, won international awards, and been selected for festival such as HotDocs, CHP:DOX and Sheffield. It will have its broadcast premieres in more than 7 European and 49 countries across Sub Saharan Africa by mid 2018.
On a macro level this film is about our changing weather, but much more than that, it is an inspiring and captivating tale of an inspiring optimist who refuses to give up!
This film powerfully shows the impact of climate change. In contrast to statistics and reports, it is well suited to bring forward an emotional connection to the issue. The film also examines the psychological aspects of living at the frontline of climate change. What does it do to you as a human being when an abstract, external factor such as climate change is threatening to destroy everything you know?
Additional information on the film:
Trailer for ‘Thank You For The Rain’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1-Z7kEyzo
Film website: www.thankyoufortherain.com
More about the film and Kisilu’s work on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThankYouForTheRain
Photo credit: Docubox
About Kisilu Musya
“Kisilu, is a father with virtually nothing, doing what he can and making a real difference, not only for his beloved family but his entire community. From his small farm in Kenya he sees the bigger picture beyond the trees he is planting in his dried land. Kisilu’s figure has the power of a mythological hero, sending a universal message that goes far beyond the issue of the climate change itself, reminding us that it takes only one to make a difference."
- Quote from the jury of BIFED 2017 in Turkey
It all began seven years ago, when Kisilu started to use a camera to capture the life his family, his village and the consequences of climate change. He has filmed floods, droughts, storms at close quarters and the more human cost on his family, but Kisilu refuses to give up! Together with his community he is fighting back against climate change and building climate resilient communities and self-help groups in his area.
A visionary, charismatic smallholder farmer and an informal community leader, Kisilu calls himself a ‘research farmer’ and he has the drive and skills to bring the community together to find common solutions on how to tackle climate change.
In August 2017 Kisilu, was selected as a speaker at TEDGlobal, at COP23 in Bonn and previously in COP21, Paris.
Photo credit: Bret Hartman / TED
About Kisilu Musya’s Work - Building Climate Resilient Communities
Kisilu is a central figure in his local community in Mutomo, East Kenya. As a community facilitator, he has helped start a number of self-help groups, in which members come together and do table banking, agroforestry, test farming, livestock keeping, irrigation, and more. Together they are searching, sharing and building knowledge on how to adapt and become climate resilient. Kisilu is also organizing meetings between farmers and decision-makers in the area, in order to ensure that the farmers needs and concerns are heard. He helps with funding applications for local adaptation projects, and he has represented small-scale farmers from arid lands at international events, including COP21 , COP23 and TEDGlobal.
Kisilu and his community dream to build and strengthen a farmer climate justice grassroot movement - starting in Kenya and stretching through East Africa and beyond - sharing knowledge, spirit and power to build climate resilient communities and fight together for climate justice!
Photo credit: Docubox
About Impact and Outreach
The film has been screened in Mutomo, Kitui county where Kisilu comes from and where the film was largely made.
These screenings have resulted in the community ownership of the film through the story of Kisilu which depicts their lives. Through the film, meetings between the community, county government leaders and various climate change stakeholders working in the area have led to robust discussions on climate smart farming solutions.
The stakeholders have shared with the community their ongoing mitigation activities and advised the community points of engagement. This is ongoing. The communities major requests are education and homegrown solutions to the climate change issues prone to their area.
More partners on the national and county level have joined in spreading awareness goal of the film with different organizations seeing to use the film as a tool for their climate change work. The impact and outreach of the film is a work in progress, that will seek to involve schools, and other communities affected by climate change in the country targeting awareness and behavior change.
The film is now scheduled for screening in Nairobi County, Kenya. Get all the details here.
Photo credit: Docubox