''Rain'' is a 2008 Bahamian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Maria Govan. This was among the first feature productions to be shot entirely by citizens of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. ''Rain'' is among the final films of actor

Calvin Lockhart Calvin Lockhart (born Bert McClossy Cooper; October 18, 1934March 29, 2007) was a Bahamian–American stage and film actor. Lockhart was perhaps best known for his roles as Reverend Deke O'Malley in the 1970 film ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' and B ...

Plot

A young Bahamian girl, Rain, boards a local

mail boat Mail boats or postal boats are a boat or ship used for the delivery of mail, and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles, in communities where bodies of water commonly separate settlements, towns or cities, often where bridges ar ...

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 Govan, 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 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

'' films among other efforts. Govan's film was shot during four weeks on three different islands of the Bahamas, including

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

and

Eleuthera Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of the The Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incor ...

; filming also took place in New York City.

Release

In early September 2008, ''Rain'' received its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. On December 4, 2008, it became the opening selection of the 2008

Bahamas International Film Festival The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a non-profit film festival held in the Bahamas. Open to both locals and international visitors, the festival was founded by Leslie Vanderpool in 2004. BIFF also hosts a youth film workshop that ...

. ''Rain'' was released on DVD in the U.S. on July 27, 2010.

Reception

When the film was shown at the Toronto Film Festival, Alissa Simon of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said: "Displaying an eye for composition, helmer Govan (who spent two years observing a crack house for docu ''Where I’m From: HIV and AIDS in the Bahamas''), knows her milieu — essentially the antithesis of Bahamian tourist-board images. Martina Radwan’s gritty lensing and Denise Hudson’s detailed production design provide ample support." She, however, commented on "the script's melodramatic cliches and some weak supporting erformances.

References

External links