My guest today is BAFTA-nominated and Oscar-Shortlisted Afghan filmmaker Elham Ehsas has he returns with There Will Come Soft Rains.

Elham, whose acclaimed short Yellow earned both a BAFTA nomination and an Academy Award shortlist, is known for illuminating unseen perspectives with emotional clarity and unflinching humanity. With There Will Come Soft Rains, he continues this bold trajectory, casting a woman’s defiance as a metaphor for resilience in a changing world.

Developed in close collaboration with global narrative-change organization Climate Spring, There Will Come Soft Rains challenges how climate stories are told on screen. Rather than relying on common tropes of dystopia and personal blame, spectacle or statistics, the film embeds the crisis in an intimate human story of grief, courage, and connection. It is one of the first films to explore climate change through the lens of Muslim faith and female defiance, voicing an urgent appeal to reimagine how we live, adapt to our changing world.

Co-funded through Climate Spring and Film London’s Hot House Shorts Competition 2023, the production was also one of the first to adopt the Green Rider Handshake Agreement, ensuring a low-carbon, sustainable shoot.

A powerful reminder that the climate crisis is both personal and universal, There Will Come Soft Rains reframes climate cinema as a story of faith, defiance, and human connection. It arrives as a film for our burning moment, timely, defiant, and unforgettable.

Ladies and gentlemen, There Will Come Soft Rains challenges how climate stories are told on screen. Rather than relying on common tropes of dystopia and personal blame, spectacle or statistics, the film embeds the crisis in an intimate human story of grief, courage, and connection. It is one of the first films to explore climate change through the lens of Muslim faith and female defiance, voicing an urgent appeal to reimagine how we live, adapt to our changing world.

Starring Olivia D’Lima as Mira, the film tells the story of a British-Pakistani woman haunted by the threat of rising sea levels who digs up her father’s grave to move him to higher ground. That single act sets faith, family, and the climate crisis on a collision course, forcing her to face tradition, authority, and her longing for sisterhood.

The moment this film started, I noticed the framing and cinematography, which instantly telling me that it’s a multi-layered story. 

Elham is a master filmmaker and he brings his mastery back to the silver screen with THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS. Think of famed directors like John Ford, Quentin Tarantino and you understand that Elham’s talent sits at the top of the world in storytelling and seeing something profound through the camera lens. 

I’ve watched the journey this film as taken, and it is being talked about even more so than is award winning film YELLOW, which is still one of my favorite short films ever. 

Climate Change is a polarizing topic, and there are millions who stand on the opposite sides of this issue. But Elham makes the topic more human than anyone I’ve seen cover this topic. It’s all about humanity and Elham puts a human face to it, but it gives it tremendous heart. 

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