Rift

A Short Documentary

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"There's a saying in our native language. Take back your fish, then teach me how you caught it."

Nestled among the towering cliffs of Kenya, high above the Great Rift Valley, sits Kijabe. This rural village – wrought with poverty and crime – is home to a brave, 14-year-old boy named Henry. He moves through each day fueled by profound courage and a boundless sense of duty to his family and those around him.

Rift is a unfettered glimpse at his powerful story.

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Official Selection - Oaxaca Film Festival (2016)

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Travis Hanour, a filmmaker and creative director hailing from the west coast, was named one of SHOOT Magazine's 5 Up-and-Coming Director's for 2016.
http://ift.tt/2mRbWXV

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Like many in Kijabe, Henry and his family live in a small mud hut. Every morning, before the sun rises, Henry starts a fire to warm the home. He fetches water from a nearby stream, which he then boils to make it potable. Some mornings, the family has only this warm water to settle their empty stomachs.

After his morning chores, Henry makes the trek to a school with crumbling walls and pitted floors. And in the evening, when the sun goes down, Henry and his sister do homework by lantern light. His goal – to overcome the relentless cycle of poverty for his family, for Kijabe, and for Kenya.

Although the children in Kijabe require superhuman perseverance to merely survive, they exude an infectious amount of joy. They feel, express, and live each and every day within the subtleties of happiness – a virtue unknown to much of the developed world.

In making this film, we felt that it was important to depict the simple reality by which this village and these people live. Not so we could look upon them with pity or empathy – but so we might better understand the courage, modesty, and joy by which they exist.

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/ CREDITS /

Director / DP / Editor: Travis Hanour (travishanour.com)
Producer: Emily Hanour (emilyhanour.com)
Associate Producer(s): Joseph Anfuso, Scott Campbell, Jane Wathagana, Kennedy Muniu
Music: Luke Howard (lukehoward.com)
Audio: Lance Limbocker
Color: Piñata Post / George Costakis (pinatapost.com)
Aerials: Patrick Avery

Thanks to:

Forward Edge International (forwardedge.org)
Mama Beth Children
Cinco Design
Kirk James
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Henry
Judy
Dancun
Anthony
George
Joseph
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Inga Hadder
Josh Hadder
Robin Parrino
Victoria Parrino
Jan Morberg
Tom Morberg

Cast: Travis Hanour

Tags: film, Rift, documentary, short film, short doc, travis hanour, kenya, africa, kijabe and short documentary