
Feature Film
by Mo Harawe
AT/FR/D/SOM/ 2024 133 min.
Supporting Cast: Axmed Cabdillahi Ducaale, Maxamed Xaaji Cabdi Faarax, Maxamed Axmed Maxamed, Maxamed Maxamuud Jaamac
Writer & Director: Mo Harawe
Cinematographer: Mostafa El Kashef
Casting: Mohamed Mohamud Jama
Production Design: Nuur Abdulkadir
Make up & Hair: Fatuma Yussuf
Costume Design: Sarah Ismail
Sound: Willis Abuto, Anne Gibourg, Guadalupe Cassius, Christophe Vingtrinier
Editing: Joana Scrinzi, aea
Executive Producers Somalia: Nuh Musse Berjeeb, Abdimalik Yusuf, Ahmed Farah, Osman Hassan Hussein
Co-producers: Jean Christophe Reymond, Nicole Gerhards, Mo Harawe
Producers: Sabine Moser & Oliver Neumann
Production: Freibeuterfilm
In collaboration with Kazak Productions (France), NiKo Film (Germany), Maanmaal ACC (Somalia)
(c) 2024 FreibeuterFilm
Supported by: Austrian Film Institute / Vienna Film Fund / ÖFI+ / ORF Film/Fernseh-Abkommen / ZDF – Das Kleine Fernsehspiel in collaboration with ARTE / Cinémas du Monde –Centre National du Cinéma et de L’image Animée –Institut Français / Région Ile de France / World Cinema Fund
Green Filming:
As part of the project, ecological and sustainable production methods were implemented in accordance with the Green Filming Guidelines of the Austrian Film Institute. Measures have been taken to reduce CO2 and resource consumption and to produce less waste.
Sarajevo Film Festival 2024 – Best Actress – Anab Ahmed Ibrahim
Chicago IFF 2024 – New Directors Competition
Toronto IFF 2024
Busan IFF 2024
BFI London Film Festival 2024
Karlovy Vary IFF 2024
Viennale – Vienna IFF 2024 – Vienna Film Award – Best Austrian Film
Marrakech IFF 2023 – Recipient of the Atlas Workshops Prize for Postproduction
Melbourne IFF 2024 / New Zealand IFF 2024 – Special Mention / Darwin IFF 2024 / Film Fest Ghent 2024 / Sao Paulo IFF 2024 / Montreal Black IFF 2024 / Helsinki IFF 2024 / Munich Film Festival 2024 / Mumbai IFF 2024 / Africa Film Festival Cologne 2024 / Haifa IFF 2024 / Jerusalem Film Festival 2024 / Durban IFF 2024 / Film My Design 2024 / Sharjah Children’s IFF 2024 / Bimestriel du Cinéma Africain à Tours 2024
SYNOPSIS
In a windy Somali village, a newly assembled family must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths.
FILMSTILLS
The-Village-Next-to-Paradise_Mo-Harawe_1_©-FreibeuterFilm--1

The Village Next to Paradise_Mo Harawe_2_© FreibeuterFilm

The Village Next to Paradise_Mo Harawe_3_© FreibeuterFilm

The Village Next to Paradise_Mo Harawe_4_© FreibeuterFilm


Mo Harawe is a Somali-Austrian writer and director, born in Mogadishu. He has been studying Visual Communication and Film at Kunsthochschule Kassel and received the Outstanding Artist Award 2024 by the Federal Ministry for Arts and Culture.
His debut feature film “The Village Next to Paradise” premiered in the prestigious Un Certain Regard Section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was subsequently invited to several major festivals, including Sarajevo IFF, Melbourne, Toronto IFF. The film is also selected for the European Film Awards.
Before his debut, he gained recognition for his short films. „Life on the Horn“ (2022) received a Special Mention at Locarno International Film Festival, while “Will My Parents Come to See Me“ (2022) was nominated for the European Film Award, won the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand as well as German LOLA and Austrian Film Award for Best Short Film in 2023.
Filmography:
2020 – Life on the Horn
2022 – Will My Parents Come to See Me”
2024 – The Village Next To Paradise