THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE

A remote village in the Somali desert. Mamargade, a single father, gets by on odd jobs, including digging graves. His sister Araweelo has moved in with him after the end of her marriage and dreams of sewing and selling her own clothes – but as an unmarried woman she can get no credit and looks for a way around the rule. Mamargade’s son Cigaal, meanwhile, wants to go to school, and no one has room in their mind for his talent. “The Village Next to Paradise” by the Somali-Austrian director Mo Harawe (Somalia/Austria/France/Germany, 2024) tells of a family holding its own between drought, drone warfare and everyday life.

Harawe, born in Mogadishu in 1992, was the first to shoot a feature film on location in Somalia, and finds a calm, precise form for his characters’ lives without dramatisation. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2024, the first Somali film ever in the festival’s official selection. It was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2024, in the WCF Berlinale section.

Shown at the 2024 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2024 · Film Archive