Mo Harawe's "The Village Next To Paradise" Wows Cannes Crowd

Somali filmmaker Mo Harawe has made his auspicious feature debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival with "The Village Next To Paradise", the first Somalian title to make it into Official Selection across the festival’s 77 editions.

The pic enjoyed widespread popularity and packed screenings at the festival, where it held its world premiere at the festival's Un Certain Regard in the presence of its cast and crew.

Public dignitaries, A-list celebrities, critics, and international media figures flocked to watch the highly-anticipated film, with the general audience hailing both the film and its director, both of which got a standing ovation after the premiere’s conclusion.

Also in attendance at the premiere were special guests and friends of the crew prolific costume designer Reem El Adl, accomplished DOP Abdelsalam Moussa, and the producers behind last year’s Cannes Freedom Prize winner Goodbye Julia Amjad Abu Alala and Mohammed Alomda.

"The Village Next To Paradise" — the first Somali film to grace the screens of Cannes — stars Ahmed Ali Farah, Anab Ahmed Ibrahim, and Ahmed Mohamud Saleban.

Within the film's windswept landscapes of a Somali village emerges a newly assembled family's tale, one in which they must navigate between diverse dreams amidst society's complex weave, viewers are treated to the village's charming heart, immersed in the lives of the residents as they pursue their hopes against the rolling tides.

Directed and written by Mo Harawe, the movie is edited by Joana Scrinzi and lensed by Mostafa El Kashef, with Nuur Abdulkadir serving as production designer.

"The Village Next To Paradise" is an international co-production that includes FreibeuterFilm (Austria), Kazak Productions (France), Niko Film (Germany), and Maanmaal ACC (Somalia).

Totem Films is handling international sales and Jour2Fête responsible for international distribution, while MAD Solutions’ sales arm MAD Distribution is in charge of the film’s distribution and sales rights in the MENA region.

Developed at the Torino Film Script Lab, the film received a post-production prize from the Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech Film Festival and a Locarno Industry award.

Born in Mogadishu, Harawe is a Berlinale Talents alumni who won a prestigious scholarship from the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Arts in 2019 and has been studying for a master’s degree in Visual Communication at the Art University in Kassel since 2020.

His filmography includes several compelling short films. Among them are "Life On The Horn", which received a Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival and Best Short Film award at the Carthage Film Festival, and "Will My Parents Come to See Me", which celebrated its world premiere at Berlinale Shorts and won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.