Mo Harawe’s debut feature film showcases Somalia’s beauty

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Friday August 23, 2024

Somali filmmaker highlights his country’s potential to become a paradise in his debut feature film at Sarajevo Film Festival.

Somali director Mo Harawe

SARAJEVO – Q&A

"The Village Next to Paradise" is your debut film feature, can you describe the process and challenges you faced transitioning from directing short films to a full-length feature?

I wrote the first draft of the script in 2018 not thinking about making the film and left it there and did other short films and I started rewriting it in 2022 when we decided to make the film and everything went smooth from financing to shooting and the post-production.

What inspired the initial concept for this film and how did it evolve over time? While in Europe, I discovered that the perception of Somalia was quite different - often completely opposite - from my own experiences there. This left me feeling confused I wanted to understand myself better so I decided to write a story that aimed to depict daily life in Somalia more authentically.

Is that why you open the film where the channel 4 TV news clip to show contrast of the Western portrayal of Somalia with the authentic Somali narrative that follows?

The idea was to begin by presenting the Western perspective, placing viewers in a position to see what is typically portrayed about the region. Simultaneously, I wanted to highlight how events such as a drone attack in this case are often depicted as a form of entertainment, which is far from the reality. The film shows what it is truly like there that these are ordinary people and how these drone strikes impact the daily decisions and lives.

How difficult was to move a 17-year-old from Somalia to Austria?

It's a long story, but the hardest part is always being away from family.

Given that many of the actors in your film are non-professionals can you describe the casting process?

Aside from one person who had acted in my short films, everyone else was untrained and in front of the camera for the first time, except for the actress who played Araweelo, we simply approached people and I started talking to them. Our casting director Mohamed did an incredible job. We spend time together asking each other questions and looking into each other's eyes to see how long our gazes would last and whether we could connect more deeply. Through this process we built the trust we needed.

The three main characters Mamamrgrade, Araweelo and Cigaal make up a small family. What was the most important thing to you when it came to developing their characters and relationships?

At the end of the day, they stick together and leave no one behind which is why the people in this country have survived even without a functional government.

What is the significance behind naming the village ‘Paradise Village’?

The village is by the sea in a place of stunning beauty, which gives it the feeling of being next to Paradise. However, this contrasts sharply with the many problems the village faces. The village is also symbolic of Somalia itself. The country has incredible potential. It boasts the longest coastline in Africa with the Indian Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Aden on the other and a population of less than 15 million. Yet despite this potential Somalia is plagued by numerous problems caused both my internal factors and external forces. For me Somalia is a country next to Paradise. It has the potential to be a kind of paradise, but for many reasons that potential remains unrealized.

How did you select locations where you shot the film?

I was familiar with the area where we wanted to shoot. In fact, I had already filmed part of my short film “Life on the Horn” in the same Village. However, not all the locations were arranged or even found before filming began. So, sometimes we have to drive around to find the next day's locations as soon as we're finished filming for the day. We anticipated this and planned enough time for it in case of delays. Thankfully we had the trust of the locals and everything worked out well largely thanks to their support.

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