A newly formed family faces challenges as they pursue individual goals and face the intricacies of modern life while relying on love, trust, and resilience. Along a deserted beach, in the wind and waves, father and son, Mamargade and Sigaal, enjoy a little happiness in nature. Such precious moments are few and far between, between multiple jobs, drone attacks that bring death from above, checkpoints, and labor payments that take months to materialize, if they ever materialize. In their simple and tiny house, built of blocks and corrugated steel, the couple lives with Mamargade Oravilo’s sister. Seagaal dreams of the world. Oravilo dreams of sewing and selling his own clothes. As an unmarried woman, she can’t get a loan, so Oravilo devises a plan to get around this rule. The risks are huge. “I’ve been trying to improve something all my life,” says Mamarheid, “but I keep making mistakes.” When misfortune overshadows almost all aspects of everyday life, it is impossible to avoid “mistakes”. However, this humble and hard-working trio never stops asking and hoping for luck, their own business, time at the beach, school funding and better days ahead. “Village next to paradise” was presented for the first time in Cannes. “This is the first film shot on location in Somalia,” said director Mo Harawe, who attended the North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Harave involved the Paradise community in the creation of the film and hired non-professional actors. The investment in Somalia paid off in terms of the film’s authenticity. Surrounding sound of music on the radio, traffic, waves and wind also contributed to the realism of nature. "The wind is a character" said Harave, “so that human characters never remain alone.” Culture is also a character, and I enjoyed immersing myself in Somali songs, stories and landscapes.