Rain in a dry land

Rain in a Dry Land shows the first 18 months of the American lives of two Bantu families. Beginning with “cultural orientation” classes in Kenya, where they are introduced to such novelties as electric appliances and the prospect of living in high-rise apartment buildings. The film follows the Muslim families on divergent yet parallel paths as they learn that the streets in America are definitely not paved with gold, especially for poor immigrants.

Social Interest

The film measures the distance from an African refugee camp to an American city and asks what it means to be a refugee in today’s “global village,” providing answers in the stories of two families whose response to 21st-century culture shock presents an uncommon portrait of human persistence in the face of social disorder and change.