Global entertainment news website Deadline just revealed in an article that MAD Distribution, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) distribution subsidiary of Cairo-based indie studio MAD Solutions, has acquired the MENA rights to Mo Harawe’s THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE from Totem Films.
 
The Un Certain Regard title is the first Somalia-shot feature film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
 
MAD’s acquisition of the MENA distribution rights from Totem follows on the heels of the company’s successful partnership with Harawe on his 2020 short film LIFE ON THE HORN, which was a hit at that year’s Locarno International Film Festival.
 
Set in a windy Somali desert village, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE revolves around a newly assembled family that must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths - even amidst the throes of civil war and natural disasters.
 
Written and directed by Harawe as his feature-length directorial debut, the film is a poignant take on Somali life that features a cast of emerging Somali actors, including Ahmed Ali Farah, Ahmed Mohamud Saleban, and Anab Ahmed Ibrahim.
 
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE is an international co-production that brings together FreibeuterFilm (Austria), Kazak Productions (France), Niko Film (Germany), and Maanmaal ACC (Somalia), with Totem Films of France handling international sales. French theatrical distribution will be handled by Jour2Fête. 
 
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE is lensed by cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, who is returning to the Cannes Film Festival this year after his short film I PROMISE YOU PARADISE captivated the French festival’s audiences last year, winning the Valbonne Audience Award and Rail d'Or for Best Short Film and earning him eight Best Cinematography awards throughout its festival run.
 
It is also edited by Joana Scrinzi, who received the Best Film Editing prize from the Austrian Film Awards for her multi-award-winning film GREAT FREEDOM, with Nuur Abdulkadir serving as production designer.
 
Developed at the Torino Film Script Lab, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE received a post-production prize from the Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech Film Festival and a Locarno Industry award.
 
Born in Mogadishu, Mo Harawe is a Berlinale Talents alumni who won a prestigious scholarship from the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Arts in 2019 and has been studying for a master’s degree in Visual Communication at the Art University in Kassel since 2020.
 
His filmography includes several compelling short films. Among them are LIFE ON THE HORN, which received a Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival and Best Short Film award at the Carthage Film Festival, and WILL MY PARENTS COME AND SEE ME, which celebrated its world premiere at Berlinale Shorts and won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
 
Founded in 2010, MAD Solutions boasts a rights library of more than 500 film titles and is prolific in the financing, production, packaging, sales, marketing, and releasing of Arab entertainment that spans the gamut from festival prize-winners to commercial blockbusters.