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Friday, August 23, 2024
A Somali filmmaker highlights his country’s potential to become a paradise in his first feature film at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Somali director Mo Haravi
Sarajevo – Questions and Answers
The village next to heaven“This is your first feature film, can you describe the process and challenges of going from directing a short to directing a feature film?
I wrote the first draft of the script in 2018, without thinking about producing it. Movie And left it there and shot other shorts, and I started rewriting it when I decided to shoot this film in 2022, and everything went smoothly from financing to shooting and post-production.
What inspired the original idea for the film? How has it evolved over time? In Europe, I found that people’s views on Somalia were very different from my own experiences there – often the exact opposite. This confused me and I wanted to understand myself better, so I decided to Write a story Aims to give a more realistic picture of daily life in Somalia.
Is that why you use Channel 4 TV news footage at the beginning of the film to contrast the Western portrayal of Somalia with the subsequent real Somali narrative?
idea The idea was to present a Western perspective and give the audience a typical image of the region. At the same time, I wanted to emphasize that incidents like the drone strikes in this case are often portrayed as a form of entertainment, which is far from reality. The film shows the reality of ordinary people there and how these drone strikes affect daily decisions and lives.
How difficult is it to transfer a 17-year-old from Somalia to Austria?
It’s a long story, but the hardest part is always being away from my family.
Given that many of the actors in your films are not professional actors, can you describe the casting process?
With the exception of one person who had been in one of my short films, everyone else was untrained and in front of the camera for the first time, except for the actress who played Alavero, and we just walked up to people and I started talking to them. Our casting director, Mohamed, did an amazing job. We spent time together asking each other questions, looking into each other’s eyes, seeing how long our gaze would linger and if we could connect more deeply. Through this process, we built the trust we needed.
The three main characters, Mamamrgrade, Araweelo and Cigaal, form a small family. What was most important to you in shaping their characters and relationships?
Ultimately, they stick together and don’t abandon anyone, which is why the people of this country have been able to survive even without a functioning government.
What is the significance of naming this village “Paradise Village”?
The village is located by the sea and has a beautiful scenery that gives it a paradise-like feel. However, this is in stark contrast to the many problems the village faces. The village is also a symbol of Somalia itself. This country has incredible potential. It has 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 people. However, despite this potential, Somalia is still plagued by many problems that are both internal and due to external forces. To me, Somalia is a paradise-like country. It has the potential to be a paradise of some kind, but this potential remains unrealized for many reasons.
How did you choose the filming locations?
I was familiar with the area we wanted to shoot in. In fact, I had already shot part of my short film, Life on the Horn, in the same village. However, not all locations were arranged or even found before the shoot began. So, sometimes as soon as we finished one day’s shoot we had to drive around to find locations for the next day’s shoot. We anticipated this and reserved enough time for delays. Thankfully, we had the trust of the locals and everything went smoothly, thanks in large part to their support.
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