
The Village Next to Paradise
Synopsis
Like a dream, Mo Harawe’s debut full-length The Village Next to Paradise — the first Somali feature ever selected for Cannes — lingers in the viewer’s memory after it ends, shifting and changing shape with the events of the day. The narrative is simple yet profound: the film follows a newly formed family, each with their own modest dreams for the future. The elder Mamargade seeks employment, his sister Araweelo aspires to own a small shop, and the youngest, Cigaal, imagines a field made of sweets and hopes to attend school.
The volatile backdrop of contemporary Somalia lends a simmering tension to Harawe’s muted storytelling, as drone strikes and political violence threaten to permanently disrupt the characters’ humble way of life. But even in places where death feels close, life must go on — a poignant observation Harawe handles with uncommon grace and artistry.

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Film Credits
- Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann
- Mo Harawe
- Joana Scrinzi
- Mostafa El Kashef
- Ahmed Ali Farah, Anab Ahmed Ibrahim, Ahmed Mohamud Saleban
- Jean Christophe Reymond, Nicole Gerhards, Mo Harawe, Nuh Musse Berjeeb, Abdimalik Yusuf, Ahmed Farah, Osman Hassan Hussein
- FreibeuterFilm, Kazak Productions, NiKo Film, Maanmaal ACC
Sponsors
Black Perspectives Program Sponsor
New Directors Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation

When the Light Breaks Ljósbrot
Synopsis
Spanning one sunset to another, When the Light Breaks is a whisper-quiet rumination on love, beauty, and human perseverance in the face of disaster. Two lovers, Una and Diddi, look toward the horizon at the end of a long Icelandic summer day. Una, a passionate performance art student, dreams of the future, which begins with the two lovers announcing their well-kept secret relationship to their friends. Then a sudden, devastating tragedy befalls Reykjavík, and Una and her friends are forced to reckon with a broken new reality. Visionary director Rúnar Rúnarsson (Sparrows, 2015) deploys a haunting score while training his expressive, incisive camera on a talented young cast to create an intimate, hushed examination of loss and grief.

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Film Credits
- Heather Millard, Rúnar Rúnarsson
- Rúnar Rúnarsson
- Andri Steinn Guðjónsson
- Sophia Olsson FSF
- Elín Hall, Mikael Kaaber, Katla Njálsdóttir, Baldur Einarsson, Ágúst Wigum, Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsson
- Jóhann Jóhannsson
- Þórður Jónsson, Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir, Claudia Hausfeld
- Compass Films, Halibut, Revolver Amsterdam, MP Film, Eaux Vives Productions, Jour2Fête
- https://www.thepartysales.com/movie/when-the-light-breaks/
Sponsors
International Competition Program Patron
Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Family Foundation

Who Do I Belong To Mé el Aïn
Synopsis
Aicha lives in Tunisia’s isolated north with her husband and youngest son. Following the departure of their oldest boys to fight alongside ISIS in Syria, the family exists in a state of fear and uncertainty. Then Mehdi, her oldest, reappears unexpectedly with a mysterious, pregnant bride, and a creeping panic begins to take hold of the family and surrounding community. Mehdi’s return seems to trigger strange happenings around the village, and an unseen darkness lurks around every corner. Shot with stunning intimacy, director Meryam Joobeur deploys breathtaking close-ups that turn faces into landscapes. Charged, wordless gazes and an unsettling, dreamlike atmosphere deepen the sense of mystery as Aicha quietly struggles between her instinct to protect her family and her moral commitment to root out the truth.

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Film Credits
- Nadim Cheikhrouha, Sarra Ben Hassen, Annick Blanc, Maria Gracia Turgeon, Meryam Joobeur
- Meryam Joobeur
- Maxime Mathis, Meryam Joobeur
- Vincent Gonneville
- Salha Nasraoui, Mohamed Hassine Grayaa, Malek Mechergui, Adam Bessa, Dea Liane, Rayen Mechergui, Chaker Mechergui
- Peter Venne
- Tanit Films, Midi La Nuit, Instinct Bleu
Sponsors
New Directors Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
With Support From

Super Happy Forever
Synopsis
Accompanied by his friend Miyata, a heartbroken Sano returns to Izu, the Japanese coastal resort where Sano fell in love with his wife, Nagi, five years prior. With the hotel set to shutter in the coming days, Sano checks in one last time and ponders the exhilarating pangs of his lost love. Adrift, he wanders the grounds, and his memories of Nagi begin to take hold.
Narratively playful and profoundly affecting, Super Happy Forever is an unconventional seaside romance. Extended flashback sequences blend memory with reality to create a moving portrait of a relationship’s beginnings while reflecting on its untimely end. A crackling chemistry between leads Hiroki Sano and Nairu Yamamoto combines with director Igarashi Kohei’s elegant visual style to create a beautiful ode to a love gained and lost.
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Film Credits
- Makoto Oki, Yusaku Emoto, Martin Bertier, Damien Manivel
- Kohei Igarashi, Koichi Kubodera
- Keiko Okawa, Kohei Igarashi, Damien Manivel
- Wataru Takahashi
- Hiroki Sano, Yoshinori Miyata, Nairu Yamamoto, Hoang Nh Quynh
- Daigo Sakuragi
- Kohei Igarashi, Kenshi Otaka, Misaki Kawamura, Satoshi Takat, Go Kitahara, Takashi Omatsu
- MLD Films, NOBO LLC
- http://www.bacfilms.com/international/movies/super-happy-forever
Sponsors
International Competition Program Patron
Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Family Foundation

Sicilian Letters Iddu
Synopsis
Sicily. Early 2000s. After serving several years in prison for Mafia-related crimes, Catello (Toni Servillo), a long-serving politician, has lost everything. When the Italian secret service prevails upon him to help capture the last major Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo (Elio Germano), who has been on the lam for three decades, Catello sees an opportunity to stage a comeback. A shrewd man of a hundred masks, Catello is a tireless illusionist and master manipulator, who turns truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth. As unique as it is improbable, Catello begins a correspondence with Matteo – using handwritten letters passed discretely to the fugitive with the intention of exploiting the younger man’s emotional shortcomings. It’s a gamble, one which, with one of the most wanted criminals in the world, involves a high degree of risk. Directing duo Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (Salvo, Sicilian Ghost Story) return to the Festival with this mesmerizing addition to their wholly distinctive examination of the impact of Mafia culture on Sicilian civil society.
In Focus: Italy on Screen
This film is part of the 60th Chicago International Film Festival’s In Focus: Italy on Screen collection, celebrating Italian cinema by harkening back to the best of the country’s filmmaking traditions while showcasing vibrant new work.
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Film Credits
- Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori, Viola Prestieri
- Paola Freddi
- Luca Bigazzi
- Toni Servillo, Elio Germano, Daniela Marra, Barbora Bobulova, Giuseppe Tantillo, Fausto Russo Alesi, Antonia Truppo
- Colapesce
- Indigo Film, Rai Cinema