Saw this at the IDFA 2024 documentary film festival in Amsterdam. Nice landscapes of local nature and cattle herds. At first sight, the English-speaking white farmers look like a residual of the colonial past. But they see it differently: they are native Kenyans, born there (as are their ancestors), and don't consider themselves settlers on stolen land. Their ownership is granted many many years ago and is difficult to challenge.
The battle around grass and water is a new phenomenon, coming about since a long-standing draught (2 years) is making it difficult for local herds to find grass and water. In the past, there was an agreement that boundaries between farms and areas for the pastoralists were less strict when water became scarce, deeming it something temporary. That was usually the case at the time, allowing a lenient compromise that worked well in the past.
Nowadays, however, with a long-term draught, it gets under duress. Water and hence grass becomes more difficult to find for everyone. The landowners have their own water supplies and want to keep it for their own cattle. So, electrical fences are built and crossing those borders is responded with violence.
By following families from different sides, we see two-sided opinions along with their positions in the issues. Less clear is the role of the politicians, who is who, and what do they stand for. I think I missed a lot on that aspect. There was more focus on the struggles between landowners and pastoralists, the latter forced to move elsewhere, to leave their homes and face an uncertain future. Their other option is to force their way into the land of the farmers, knowing that the latter are better equipped to withstand that sort of direct pressure, having modern weapons, vehicles and communication equipment. A long-lasting siege, on the other hand, is difficult to maintain when your possessions (house and cattle) are in open field and easy to harm.
All in all, there is more to it than a too-easy story about colonists versus natives, white versus black people, and more such superficial observations. By showing both sides, we get acquainted with positions of both sides, none of them right or wrong. A third "party" in the struggle is climate change, causing all the troubles we see emerging, without an easy solution in sight anywhere. I dearly missed a clear picture of the politicians and what they think to do about it (can they do anything useful??).
