For his first feature film, “The village next to paradise“, screening in the Un Certain Regard competition of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, director Mo Harawe decided to depict his home country, Somalia. Following his acclaimed short films “Life on the Horn and Will My Parents Come to See Me“, the director explores his country’s potential to become a paradise. By portraying the members of a family and their navigating through aspirations, ambitions and objectives, Mo Harawe managed to show Somalia from an insider’s perspective. As for the title, the director Mo Harawe explains that it works on two levels: On the one hand, there is this village by the sea, where it’s very beautiful, so it relates to the idea of being “next to paradise”. There are lovely places in Somalia, with lovely, wild beaches. On another level, this name can represent Somalia itself; the country has such incredible potential. Somalia is a country “next to paradise”; it is potentially a kind of paradise, but for many reasons that potential isn’t being realized. The post “The village next to paradise”, interview with director Mo Harawe appeared first on Fred Film Radio.