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Send the Rain film image; young girl talking to an older woman outside

Send the Rain

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World Premiere

Erika, a young Okinawan-Canadian animator living in Vancouver, makes an unexpected road trip to rural BC when her stubborn Oba refuses to evacuate the family farm as wildfires close in. As Erika tries to convince her grandmother to leave, vignettes of vivid memories reveal Oba’s past — from her departure from Japan during the war, to the tumultuous childhood of Erika’s mother and the bittersweet reality of strawberry picking. Fielding urgent calls to evacuate from her sister Hanna, Erika must reckon with the complicated ties that bind her to the farm.

Written and Directed by Hayley Gray and Kaayla Whachell, Send the Rain is a tender, quietly funny portrait of a family negotiating history, responsibility, and the pull of home. Caleb Chan’s evocative score deepens the film’s sense of place, while Whachell and Gray’s understated direction lets generational tensions emerge organically. Unfolding entirely in the BC interior, Send the Rain finds its drama in the gap between knowing when to let go and when to stay.

 

Presented by

Telefilm logo

Media Partner

Global BC logo

Director
Cast

Erika Prevost, Sachiko Tsujimoto, Dylan Playfair

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2026

Language

English

Film Contact
19+
94 min
BC Spotlight Drama Family Relations Women Directors

Book Tickets

Friday October 02

6:00 pm
Hearing Assistance
International Village 10
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Thursday October 08

3:15 pm
Hearing Assistance
Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only
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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Jake Labow, Erika Prevost

Producer

Mike Johnston

Screenwriter

Hayley Gray, Kaayla Whachell

Cinematography

Kaayla Whachell

Editor

Michael Vidler

Production Design

Ryan MacInnes

Original Music

Caleb Chan

Hayley Gray headshot

Hayley Gray

Hayley Gray is a Vancouver-based writer, director, producer, and film programmer (DGC). Her scripted, documentary, and commercial works have won awards around the world and aired on Telus Optik, Knowledge Network, CBC, and AMI. Her NFB-produced documentary Unarchived premiered at VIFF 2022, and she created three of Historica Canada’s latest Heritage Minutes. Her short film Send The Rain (2022) premiered on CBC and won the Golden Egg at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, the Golden Sheaf at the Yorkton Film Festival, and the DGC Short Film Award, before being adapted into a feature in 2026.

Filmography: Unarchived (2022)

Kaayla Whachell headshot

Kaayla Whachell

Kaayla Whachell is a cinematographer and associate member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, where she also serves as Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee. Of Okinawan, Red River Métis, and Czech descent, she brings her own perspective and lived experience to her work. Whachell’s first feature film as director of photography, Portraits from a Fire (directed by Trevor Mack), earned her the 2022 Leo Award for Best Cinematography. Other credits include ESPN’s 30 for 30: I’m Just Here for the Riot (2023; directed by Kat Jaymeand Asia Youngman) and The Chef & the Daruma (2024; directed by Mads K Baekkevold).

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