The Village Next to Paradise. 2024. Directed by Mo Harawe

Film

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The Village Next to Paradise. 2024. Austria/France/Germany/Somalia. Directed by Mo Harawe. Courtesy Totem Films

The Village Next to Paradise. 2024. Austria/France/Germany/Somalia. Directed by Mo Harawe. New York premiere. In Somali; English subtitles. 133 min.

A news broadcast announces the U.S. drone strike that’s killed an Al Qaeda associate in a “remote area” of Somalia. When that story ends, The Village Next to Paradise begins: Mamargade is the hardworking civilian for whom burying this terrorist leader is but one way to provide for his family in a world of strivers and cheats. This deeply moving, brutally honest vision of Somali life probes economic and familial anxieties with a brilliance that recalls great works of Italian neorealism. In his feature debut, the first Somali film to be an Official Selection at Cannes, Mo Harawe has created a film of stirring music, rich colors, and fine textures, one that grants a better understanding of our planet and a deeper love for those on it.

This film accompanies New Directors/New Films 2025.

Past events

Sat, Apr 5, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

Film at Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
Thu, Apr 3, 2025, 6:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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