Filmmaker Moved by Immigration

Photo courtesy of Google Images

By WIlliette Nyanue
Published: Monday, March 2, 2009 in the Daily Free Press


The small, everyday tasks are what make adjusting to a new life in a new country so difficult, film maker Anne Makepeace said Thursday night.

Makepeace told students at a lecture and screening of her documentary “Rain in a Dry Land” that even going to the doctor in a new country and can seem like a daunting task. About 25 students came to listen to Makepeace speak of her experiences documenting the lives of two Somalian families as they started new lives in America.

“I get carried away by wanting to tell a story,” Makepeace said. “Frankly, something just gets my heart.”

Makepeace said the documentary was inspired by an article she read five years ago. The movie chronicles two families from their time in Kenyan refugee camps through their arrival in the U.S. The documentary shed light on the difficulties faced by Somalian migrants to the United States, including not only language barriers, but also American customs.

Makepeace said the challenges the families faced surprised her.

“I thought that they would run into racism, but it didn’t happen like that,” she said. “Things don’t happen the way you imagine them.”

Instead, common American activities became daunting tasks for the new migrants. The film documents everything from the families’ first plane rides to their first trips to the grocery store to their first rides on an escalator. Each scene of firsts shows authentic reaction to each member’s encounter with American life.

In one scene, Aden, the head of one household, tries to open a medicine bottle. After about five minutes of struggling without success, he throws the bottle in frustration.

“Those scenes were excruciating to me. The thing is that those moments that are really painful are the ones that touch people the most,” Makepeace said. “It’s important not just to show the triumphant moments, but to show them all.”

Makepeace said she has high hopes for her documentary.

“I hope it’s going to do good,” she said. “I hope it’s going to educate mainstream America about who these people are, teach them more tolerance and educate people in social services dealing with people.”

Although the documentary has brought awareness to the cause, getting Aden a job to support his family and providing tutors for refugees, its monetary success has been limited, Makepeace said.

“These movies don’t make a lot of money,” she said. “You are lucky if you have enough money at the end to pay all of the people that you are indebted to.”

Attendees of the screening, which was part of Boston University’s Cinematheque lecture series, said the documentary was both educational and inspiring.

“A film like this shows that you can be a good human being, filmmaker and also have a really good film,” Cinematheque programmer and film professor Gary Peary said.

Suffolk University senior Lauren Noyes said the documentary introduced her to a new world.

“I’ve never been very familiar of the conditions,” she said. “It kind of educated me. I had a lot of sympathy. It had to be tough getting used to the American way. It’s hard.”