EXCLUSIVE: French gross sales and manufacturing firm Totem Films has boarded worldwide gross sales on Somalia-set drama The Village Next To Paradise by Mo Harawe.
The film was amongst 14 titles introduced for the Un Certain Section of the 77th version of the Cannes Film Festival on the occasion’s press convention in Paris on Thursday.
Set in a distant Somali village, the characteristic revolves round a newly assembled household as its members navigate between their completely different aspirations and the advanced world surrounding them. Only love, belief and resilience will energy them via their life paths.
“It is a privilege to afford to dream, let alone to become a filmmaker,” stated Harawe. following the information. “The Village Next to Paradise serves as a metaphor for a country that holds the potential for paradise, were it not for the circumstances that make such a reality impossible.”
The movie stars Somalian actors Ahmed Ali Farah, Anab Ahmed Ibrahim and Ahmed Mohamud Saleban.
The Village Next To Paradise is produced by Sabine Moser and Oliver Neumann from Austria’s Freibeuter Film (Great Freedom, Hinterland), Germany’s Niko Film (More Than Ever), France’s Kazak Productions (Corsage, Titane) and Somalia’s Maanmaal ACC.
“We can’t wait to present Mo Harawe’s outstanding debut feature about family, love and resilience in Cannes,” stated Moser and Neumann.
The Village Next To Paradise is Mogadishu-born Somali and Austrian filmmaker Harawe debut feature-length movie. He additionally wrote the screenplay.
An alumnus in Visual Communication and Film at Kunsthochschule Kassel, Harawe has already made waves on the competition circuit with quite a lot of buzzy brief movies.
His second brief Life on the Horn, concerning the penalties of poisonous waste touchdown on the Somali shoreline, earned a Special Mention at Locarno International Film Festival in 2020.
His newest brief Will My Parents Come to See Me, a couple of younger jail inmate, was nominated for a European Film Award and received a German Lola award in 2022 and clinched the the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand and Austrian Film Award for Best Short Film in 2023.
Paris-based Totem Films have been monitoring The Village Next To Paradise because it presentation on the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops final November, the place it received the $21,000 (€20,000) post-production Atlas Award.
The trade jury comprised Cannes Critics’ Week head Ava Cahen, Moroccan filmmaker Meriem Benm’Barek and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy.
“With a precise mise en scène, Mo opens a wide frame on a complex situation to better focus on the core of human connections, love, forgiveness and memories,” stated Totem Films co-heads Laure Parleani and Bérenice Vincent.