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DOP Mostafa El Kashef wins Best Cinematography at Festival of Austrian Film for his film THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE
08 April 2025
Marking his second award for the film and further showcasing his exceptional talent, DOP Mostafa El Kashef has won the Best Cinematography Award for his work on the Somali film THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE by Mo Harawe, at the Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film, held in Graz from March 27th to April 1st.
In addition to this award, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE won Best Fiction Feature at the festival, with the jury praising it for its “fine sense of nuance, developing its gentle impact in the process.” It also received €15,000 from the Culture Department of the Federal State of Styria, €1,000 donated by streaming platform watchAUT, a €3,000 coupon for ads on watchAUT, and a €4,000 donation as a voucher by The Grand Post – Post Production House.
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE previously won El Kashef the Best Cinematography Award at the Tunisian Carthage Film Festival and has garnered six other awards from various festivals, including Chicago, Sarajevo, Munich, Cork, and Marrakech, along with the Best Austrian Film Award at the Viennale.
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.
This film marks El Kashef’s second feature-length film, which is the first ever film to be shot in Somalia to screen at Cannes and the recipient of a post-production prize from the Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech Film Festival and a Locarno Industry award, enjoyed widespread popularity and a packed world premiere at the festival's Un Certain Regard, with the general audience hailing the film and giving it a standing ovation.
The film also took the internet by storm, receiving widespread praise from prominent critics worldwide, who lauded its exceptional cinematography in their reviews. This included Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter, who described El Kashef's cinematography as "offering truly striking images," and Nikki Baughan of Screendaily, who highlighted the film's "striking visual literacy."
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 and Mena distribution by MAD Distribution, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) distribution subsidiary of Cairo-based indie studio MAD Solutions.
MAD Crew Celebrity Mostafa El Kashef — a renowned visual artist, producer, and DOP — has lent his creative prowess to 13 cinematic masterpieces, including his debut feature, 19 B, which earned him the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Cairo International Film Festival.
As a cinematographer, El Kashef worked on a series of highly acclaimed short films, including Jaylan Auf’s MY FESTIVAL and Sharine Atef’s JEBEL BANAT. Following that, he collaborated on Yousuf Nouman’s THIS IS MY NIGHT, which earned him Best Cinematography at Cinemaz Brasil.
El Kashef’s breakthrough, however, came in 2021, when he worked on three compelling short films that further established his global renown as an accomplished DOP when they all premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France — Ahmed Abdelsalam’s CAI - BER, Morad Mostafa’s KHADIJA, and WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT MARIAM, which earned him Best Cinematography at the Galichnik Film Festival.
He then collaborated with Mostafa once again on the short film I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, which earned him eight Best Cinematography awards from different international film festivals and was screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
As for his recent projects, they include Joseph Adel’s ENOUGH WATER TO DROWN, Jawaher Alamri’s THE LAST DISMISSAL, Rasha Shahin’s NAHAR ABER, and Hind Soheil’s PROMISE TO THE SEA.
Besides cinematography, El Kashef has his own production company Qaa’23, which produced I PROMISE YOU PARADISE and ENOUGH WATER TO DROWN.
In addition to this award, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE won Best Fiction Feature at the festival, with the jury praising it for its “fine sense of nuance, developing its gentle impact in the process.” It also received €15,000 from the Culture Department of the Federal State of Styria, €1,000 donated by streaming platform watchAUT, a €3,000 coupon for ads on watchAUT, and a €4,000 donation as a voucher by The Grand Post – Post Production House.
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE previously won El Kashef the Best Cinematography Award at the Tunisian Carthage Film Festival and has garnered six other awards from various festivals, including Chicago, Sarajevo, Munich, Cork, and Marrakech, along with the Best Austrian Film Award at the Viennale.
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.
This film marks El Kashef’s second feature-length film, which is the first ever film to be shot in Somalia to screen at Cannes and the recipient of a post-production prize from the Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech Film Festival and a Locarno Industry award, enjoyed widespread popularity and a packed world premiere at the festival's Un Certain Regard, with the general audience hailing the film and giving it a standing ovation.
The film also took the internet by storm, receiving widespread praise from prominent critics worldwide, who lauded its exceptional cinematography in their reviews. This included Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter, who described El Kashef's cinematography as "offering truly striking images," and Nikki Baughan of Screendaily, who highlighted the film's "striking visual literacy."
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 and Mena distribution by MAD Distribution, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) distribution subsidiary of Cairo-based indie studio MAD Solutions.
MAD Crew Celebrity Mostafa El Kashef — a renowned visual artist, producer, and DOP — has lent his creative prowess to 13 cinematic masterpieces, including his debut feature, 19 B, which earned him the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Cairo International Film Festival.
As a cinematographer, El Kashef worked on a series of highly acclaimed short films, including Jaylan Auf’s MY FESTIVAL and Sharine Atef’s JEBEL BANAT. Following that, he collaborated on Yousuf Nouman’s THIS IS MY NIGHT, which earned him Best Cinematography at Cinemaz Brasil.
El Kashef’s breakthrough, however, came in 2021, when he worked on three compelling short films that further established his global renown as an accomplished DOP when they all premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France — Ahmed Abdelsalam’s CAI - BER, Morad Mostafa’s KHADIJA, and WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT MARIAM, which earned him Best Cinematography at the Galichnik Film Festival.
He then collaborated with Mostafa once again on the short film I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, which earned him eight Best Cinematography awards from different international film festivals and was screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
As for his recent projects, they include Joseph Adel’s ENOUGH WATER TO DROWN, Jawaher Alamri’s THE LAST DISMISSAL, Rasha Shahin’s NAHAR ABER, and Hind Soheil’s PROMISE TO THE SEA.
Besides cinematography, El Kashef has his own production company Qaa’23, which produced I PROMISE YOU PARADISE and ENOUGH WATER TO DROWN.
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