Paradise

Two lonely teenagers – one Ghanaian, the other Canadian – are unexpectedly drawn together in this compelling debut feature from a MIFF-awarded director.

As a child, Kojo was not too fond of selling fish by the roadside with his father. After his dad disappears at sea, he fills the void by joining Accra’s shady underworld. Meanwhile, in Quebec, Tony spends his days skateboarding and loafing around with friends. He quietly pines for the father he never knew while burdening his mother Chantal, who’s dabbling in online dating. Over time, a series of serendipitous events will bring these two teens onto a collision course that will change their lives forever.

The Berlinale-premiering first feature from Oscar-nominated director Jérémy Comte – whose film Fauve won Best Short Film at MIFF 2018 – is an accomplished work that depicts both the intricacies of culture and the universal adolescent search for belonging. Meticulous plotting carefully reveals the fragility behind the boys’ frivolous decisions, while the striking cinematography by Olivier Gossot (who also lensed Fauve) and sweeping score by Valentin Hadjadj (Close, MIFF 2022) round out an atmospheric and at times dreamlike film. With compassion and candour, Comte shows that paradise may be much closer to home than we think.

“[A] fascinating feature debut that reminds of another Quebecois filmmaker’s international breakthrough, Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, in taking a story of intimate scale and broadening it to a global scope.” – The Moveable Fest