Director/Producer: Richard Pakeppa
Nabimi, South Africa, Germany / 2012 / 83min
Rachel and Tomas fight for their survival on a farm on the edge of the Namib desert.
Rachel’s life has been devastated by drought , an unspoken loss and the obliterating light of the Namib desert. With an unshakeable belief that rain will come Tomas struggles to keep the farm going. But after the death of some of their sheep Rachel is fast loosing her mind in the vast empty space that threatens to swallow her. Of all the farm workers only old Lena, a Nama woman, still lives on the farm. When their bore-hole runs dry Tomas leaves the farm in search of water for their last remaining animals. Rachel remains behind with old Lena who seems to understand the sense of grief that surrounds Rachel.
While Tomas is away, Ray, a black man, arrives on the farm. He is a geologist from the drought relief program. He’s come to do a water survey. He charts the geological formations and divines for water. At first Rachel is dismissive of him. She feels that his efforts are absurd: what good will water do when the land is barren? It’s too little, too late.
Ray challenges her by revealing that he, too, knows what it’s like to be at the end of the road with no hope. When he tells her of his past as a guerilla commander she begins to open up to him. Believing that he has located water Ray brings his drilling team to the farm. The drillers find water and Rachel follows her growing attraction to Ray. He makes her feel alive again. When Tomas returns to the farm Rachel is unable to let go of the man who has brought her back to life. She leaves her husband to join Ray. But their passionate connection is also driven by the ghosts of the past….