The Village Next To Paradise +Q&A
In a windswept Somali fishing village, Mamargade, a single father, works odd jobs to provide a better life for his son, Cigaal. Araweelo, his sister, comes back to live with them after her divorce. Each pursues their own ambitions in a country wrecked by civil war, natural disasters and the deadly threat posed by the U.S. drones constantly buzzing overhead.
On many occasions throughout this patient, and truly gorgeous, testament to love and resilience, multi-awarded director Mo Harawe could be tempted to sacrifice the truth of his protagonists for the sake of narrative shortcuts. He fends them all off and is rewarded, and us with him, with the kind of intense, slow burn emotional build-up that only such self-assured filmmaking can produce.
Mo Harawe emigrated from Somalia to Austria in 2009. After training as a filmmaker, he began to explore life in the country he left behind, using cinema to bridge the gap between the memories of his homeland and the way Somalia is perceived from Europe. His awarded short films signalled him as a powerful new voice in the film world.
Director Mo Harawe will attend the screening and participate in a post-screening Q&A hosted by Aurélie Godet, Director of Programming.
Spirit of the Festival Best Film and Best Screenplay nominee