Rain, a 2008 Bahamian film directed by Maria Govan, will be playing this month in Nassau’s Galleria Cinemas from June 13-29. Rain is among the first feature productions to be shot entirely by citizens of the Bahamas. [Also see previous post Rain: a Bahamian film.]

Bahamian filmmaker Maria Govan talks about her film’s history, “Rain found its core audience internationally – in that it has been so celebrated in the US having aired on a  major network Showtime to some twenty-two million viewers and sold over 70,000 DVDS in major stores across the US.  We won awards in Korea, France even with the language barriers.  I do however want to say that I made this film for Bahamians first.  It is a film that really mirrors so many peoples reality here.  That is why Bahamians should come out.  How often do we get to see and hear ourselves on the big screen telling our own story from the inside of the experience? Not often enough, so I would encourage those Bahamians who love film of any kind to come out, and because Rain is Bahamian those of you who don’t make an effort to go to the cinemas, this is a very special event that I hope you celebrate and take advantage of.”

“It’s our story, and many Bahamians still haven’t seen or know about it,” said filmmaker Travolta Cooper, producer of #TheCinemas. “It’s critically important to our local Bahamian film industry. While movies begin in the hands of the filmmaker, they end in the hands of the audience. It’s a relationship, ‘the filmmaker and the film-goer.’ Let’s get as many Bahamians to see it as possible.” [. . .]

Plot: A young Bahamian girl, Rain, boards a local mail boat from Ragged Island and sets sail for Nassau. The death of her grandmother has forced her to get out and explore the world on her own. When she arrives in Nassau, the sights of the big city overwhelm her, and soon she finds her idealistic illusions shattered when she finds how destructive her mother’s lifestyle has truly become. Stranded in an unfamiliar environment that fills her with dread and confronted by a mother she has never known, Rain searches desperately to find her own place in the world.

Production: Rain was the first film to be directed by Maria Gowan, who raised the US$1 million budget through Bahamian investors.  It was also one of the first features to be produced entirely in the Bahamas (the first being “Filthy Rich Gangster”), which had long been a filming location for the James Bond films among other efforts. Govan’s film was shot during four weeks on three different islands of the Bahamas, including New Providence and Eleuthera; filming also took place in New York City.

For full article, see http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/entertainment/Rain_Comes_to_Galleria_Cinemas_Nassau_in_June35389.shtml