Proceeds will benefit the Grand Bahama Children's Home and the Director, Maria Govan and lead actor Renel Naomi Brown, who plays the title role will be at the event.
The gala event will include wine, fine chocolate and hors d'oeuvres, and is being organised by Daphne Cates and is graciously supported by many sponsors and individuals that believe in supporting the Bahamian film industry.
Tickets are available now for only $20 at:
* Seventeen Shop
* Zorba's Greek Restaurant
* Wide World Travel
* La Belle Beauty Salon
SYNOPSIS OF 'RAIN'
Rain is a young Bahamian girl who, after her grandmother's death chooses to take an epic voyage by mail boat, leaving behind her very simple and sheltered life on the rural Ragged Island for the big city of Nassau. She hopes to reconcile with her mother who abandoned her when she was just a toddler; however, her hopes and illusions are shattered one after another as her mother's deviant and destructive lifestyle becomes evident to her.
Nassau's bustling harbor, larger than life hotels, crazed noise, traffic, and hostile temperament mirror nothing of the quaint, peaceful farming and fishing community she left behind.
The charcoal black woman who meets her is proud in posture, bony and scarred but does not resemble the photograph Rain holds and has so long treasured. This hard mouthed woman is Glory, her long-lost mother. Glory takes Rain into the valley of Nassau's urban ghetto – an area known as the Graveyard – a small community of clapboard shacks with no toilet facilities or running water, inhabited by gamblers, drug users, and prostitutes, all enslaved by a culture of addiction. This godless place is to be Rain's new home, and life, as she has known it, begins to transform darkly.
Judged by others because of her mother's appearance and demeanor, Rain is confronted with the cruel prejudices of the world and is alienated by her peers and teachers. It is not until the school track coach and her rebellious neighbor Magdalene befriend her that her situation changes. With her God given gift of speed, Rain not only makes the track team, but also challenges the star athlete, Keva. This young woman becomes Rain's antagonist when Rain shows promise for regional recognition and wins the coach's dedication and affection. Rain's real antagonist, however, is her mother, and running becomes a metaphor that reflects the spirit – and the struggles – of both central characters.
Rain tells the story of a young girl's voyage of discovery – to find herself and her place in the world. Confronted by a mother she does not know and an environment she dreads, Rain must catch her stride in the only place that matters, the spiritual ground deep within her.
Learn more about Rain HERE
Related articles about Rain or director, Maria Govan:
Bahamian ‘Rain’ showers Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
(VIDEO) Bahamas International Film Festival: "Fiesta Hispana"
Bahamian Film, "Rain" goes to the Women's International Film Festival of Seoul
Winners of BIFF 2008
Bahamian film, Rain, featured at Toronto International Film Festival
Maria Govan, (Writer/Director)
A Bahamian native of Greek and Scottish descent, Maria was actually born in a Miami, Florida hospital due to a series of complications with her mother's pregnancy. Throughout her life, her creative voice has been deeply rooted in a dialogue with her home, the Bahamas.
At eighteen, Maria moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the movie business. Working as a production assistant on several films in LA, practical experience and absorption of the craft became her primary education. Her passion for directing led her back home where she quickly began to craft her own voice as a visual story teller. Wanting to know more about her people, she began to simply listen to the many stories around her.
In 2000, Maria directed her first film - a documentary entitled Junkanoo: The Heartbeat of a People, (62 mins) which is a celebration of Bahamian culture by exploring the African rooted festival tradition of Junkanoo. Her subsequent work, in 2004, was an intimate look at the shattered lives of three Bahamians living with HIV. That film, Where I'm From: HIV and AIDS in the Bahamas (86 mins) was an official selection at the Bahamas International Film Festival where it received critical acclaim.
Rain marks Maria's entrance into narrative film. It is one of many stories from her unique and cultural homeland she hopes to share with the world.
