Director of
VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE
Mo Harawe is a Somali-Austrian writer and director, born in Mogadishu. He has been studying Visual Communication and Film at Kunsthochschule Kassel and received the Outstanding Artist Award 2024 by the Federal Ministry for Arts and Culture. His debut feature film The Village Next to Paradise premiered in the prestigious Un Certain Regard Section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was subsequently invited to several major festivals, including Sarajevo IFF, Melbourne, Toronto IFF. The film is also selected for the European Film Awards. Before his debut, he gained recognition for his short films. Life on the Horn (2022) received a Special Mention at Locarno International Film Festival, while Will My Parents Come to See Me (2022) was nominated for the European Film Award, won the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand as well as German LOLA and Austrian Film Award for Best Short Film in 2023.
Films (selection): WAIT A MINUTE (2012, short), THE OTHER SIDE (2014, short), ONE LAST MOMENT (2024, short), LIFE ON THE HORN (2020, short), WILL MY PARENTS COME TO SEE ME (2022, short).