With his debut feature THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE, Somali-Austrian screenwriter and director Mo Harawe delivers a powerful story of love, resilience and hope, and a rare insight into a country that is hardly ever seen on the big screen. Since the early 2000s, the US has regularly carried out deadly drone attacks on Somalia. His film begins with just such an attack. The buzzing and humming of the drones is like an ominous soundtrack over the images of a country in which all the inhabitants are fighting for survival - especially the people in the village that ironically bears the name “Paradise”. Children here learn at school how to behave in the event of drone attacks, and the adults resign themselves to their fate. This includes Marmargade (Ahmed Ali Farah), who does everything he can to give his son Cigaal (Ahmed Mohamud Saleban) a better life in the city. His relationship with his sister Araweelo (Anab Ahmed Ibrahim) is also full of conflict: she dreams of running her own tailoring business, while Marmargade hopes for her financial support to secure his son's future. Mo Harawe's debut film revolves around these characters, who reflect the fate of Somalia in various ways through the powerful presence of the actors. The film contrasts the geopolitical realities of a crisis-ridden region with a wondrously poetic narrative. “The Village Next to Paradise” is both a personal and a political film that bears the signature of a mature director in its atmospheric density and narrative subtlety. The film was the first Somali film ever to be shown in the prestigious “Un Certain Regard” section in Cannes.