Documentary backdrop image for Making Rain (2021)

Documentary backdrop image for Making Rain (2021)

202157 minPGdocumentary

Making Rain

202157 minPGdocumentary

Over 70 years old, Mbuya Gondo is a spiritual medium who conducts ceremonies at a significant rock drawing site in the Vumba Hills of Mozambique.

Genres

Directors

Synopsis

Over 70 years old, Mbuya Gondo is a spiritual medium who conducts ceremonies at a significant rock drawing site in the Vumba Hills of Mozambique.

People

Frode Storaas

Frode Storaasdirector

Liivo Niglas

Liivo Niglasdirector

Synopsis

Mbuya Gondo, a spiritual medium over 70 years old, conducts ceremonies at a rock drawing site in the Vumba Hills of central Mozambique. Her practices draw the ire of Mambo Chirara, the region's chief and spiritual leader, who oversees local court cases and rituals. Tensions rise as the two leaders navigate their roles during the preparation for the annual rainmaking rituals, revealing underlying gender issues and local political dynamics within the kingdom.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun

1989•52m•★7.3TMDB

Young men of the Wodaabe tribe engage in beauty pageants marked by extravagant makeup and intricate posturing to attract potential mates.

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun

The Makishi Masquerade I Slice (2021)

The Makishi Masquerade I Slice

The Makishi Masquerade in Zambia celebrates the initiation of boys into manhood, but rising costs threaten the survival of this 500-year-old tradition.

The Makishi Masquerade I Slice

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests (2024)

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests

Hilarion Kassa Moussavou, a Punu traditional healer, strives to protect Gabon's sacred forests through indigenous medicine and the establishment of a Forest School.

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher (2021)

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher

Prophet Mboro, a millionaire preacher in South Africa, is known for his controversial practices and extravagant lifestyle amidst claims of performing miracles.

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher

The Most Controversial Millionaire Preacher in South Africa (2023)

The Most Controversial Millionaire Preacher in South Africa

Over three million people in Johannesburg identify as Christians, many drawn to the controversial millionaire preacher known as Prophet Mboro.

The Most Controversial Millionaire Preacher in South Africa

Tensions Brew on the South Africa/Lesotho Border (2018)

Tensions Brew on the South Africa/Lesotho Border

Tensions between white farmers and spiritual pilgrims in Lesotho highlight a complex conflict over land rights and religious practices in South Africa.

Tensions Brew on the South Africa/Lesotho Border

A Fire Dance Of Grief And Memory: How The Kaluli People Honor Their Dead (2026)

A Fire Dance Of Grief And Memory: How The Kaluli People Honor Their Dead

Kaluli people honor their deceased through the Koluba ceremony, where fire dancers express grief and memory using elements from their lush jungle environment.

A Fire Dance Of Grief And Memory: How The Kaluli People Honor Their Dead

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist (2022)

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist

More than half of Malawi's 16,000 kilometers of road network remains unpaved, complicating transportation and access to essential services.

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist

Witchcraft, Exorcism, Shamanism: the Most Extreme Rituals in the World (2023)

Witchcraft, Exorcism, Shamanism: the Most Extreme Rituals in the World

Fernand Yodé, a self-proclaimed prophet in Gabon, collects €3,000 from his followers during a ritual to expel a water demon from a woman.

Witchcraft, Exorcism, Shamanism: the Most Extreme Rituals in the World

Mongolia's New Generation at a Crossroads (2023)

Mongolia's New Generation at a Crossroads

Chinbayar seeks guidance from lamas and shaman elders across Mongolia to navigate the conflict between his family's gold mining and the sacredness of the land.

Mongolia's New Generation at a Crossroads

Explore Making Rain

Where else to watch

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun

1989•52m•★7.3TMDB

Young men of the Wodaabe tribe engage in beauty pageants marked by extravagant makeup and intricate posturing to attract potential mates.

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun

No digital watch option in your country

Omo Child: The River and the Bush (2015)

Omo Child: The River and the Bush

2015•1h29m•★8.2TMDB

Over five years, Lale Labuko works to change the practice of 'mingi' in the Omo Valley, which leads to the killing of children believed to be cursed.

Omo Child: The River and the Bush

Kongo (2020)

Kongo

2020•1h10m•★7.7TMDB

A healer in Brazzaville faces public accusations of black magic, challenging his faith and the trust of his community.

The Sound of Masks (2018)

The Sound of Masks

2018•1h10m•★7.3TMDB

Atanásio Nyusi, a legendary Mapiko dancer, presents a visual account of Mozambique's history and culture.

The Sound of Masks

Bridewealth for a Goddess (2000)

Bridewealth for a Goddess

2000•1h12m•★8.0TMDB

Fifteen years of filming capture the last performance of a ritual dedicated to the fertility goddess Amb Kor in Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands Province.

Bridewealth for a Goddess

Mama Irene, Healer of the Andes (2021)

Mama Irene, Healer of the Andes

2021•1h11m•★8.0TMDB

An 86-year-old shaman from Peru shares ancient healing practices while advocating for women's empowerment in her community.

Mama Irene, Healer of the Andes

Mammy Water (1953)

Mammy Water

1953•19m•★5.7TMDB

In the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana, the Chama festival features offerings of cassava, gin, and tobacco to water spirits, culminating in the sacrifice of a white ox.

Browse more like this

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests (2024)

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests

Hilarion Kassa Moussavou, a Punu traditional healer, strives to protect Gabon's sacred forests through indigenous medicine and the establishment of a Forest School.

The Punu People and Their Fight to Protect Gabon's Sacred Forests

No digital watch option in your country

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher (2021)

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher

Prophet Mboro, a millionaire preacher in South Africa, is known for his controversial practices and extravagant lifestyle amidst claims of performing miracles.

Confronting South Africa's Millionaire Preacher

No digital watch option in your country

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist (2022)

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist

More than half of Malawi's 16,000 kilometers of road network remains unpaved, complicating transportation and access to essential services.

Malawi, Spirits of the Mist

No digital watch option in your country

Mounted By The Gods (2003)

Mounted By The Gods

2003•1h30m•★8.0TMDB

After nearly ten years of filming, Albert Venzago documented secret voodoo ceremonies and rituals in West Africa, gaining unique access to this culture.

Mounted By The Gods

Mueda, Memory and Massacre (1982)

Mueda, Memory and Massacre

1982•1h20m•★7.0TMDB

Survivors in Mueda, Northern Mozambique, re-enact the 1960 massacre by the Portuguese colonial regime, blending memory with cultural expression.

Mueda, Memory and Massacre

Anamocot (2025)

Anamocot

2025•1h31m•★8.0TMDB

After 20 years of searching, French researcher Michel Ballot seeks local guidance in the Cameroonian forest for the elusive Mokélé-Mbembé.

If Vagina Had Teeth: The Shona Rainmaking Ceremony in Western Mozambique (2009)

If Vagina Had Teeth: The Shona Rainmaking Ceremony in Western Mozambique

Secret performances of fertility rituals in Manika Province, Mozambique, are restricted to elderly men and women, reflecting a fading tradition.

If Vagina Had Teeth: The Shona Rainmaking Ceremony in Western Mozambique

Browse more by Frode Storaas

View all films →

If Vagina Had Teeth: The Shona Rainmaking Ceremony in Western Mozambique (2009)

If Vagina Had Teeth: The Shona Rainmaking Ceremony in Western Mozambique

2009

An Indian Love Story (2023)

An Indian Love Story

2023

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →