Messages from Paradise #1
Egypt : Austria
About the Permanent Longing for elsewhere

A documentary film by Daniela Swarowsky and Samuli Schielke

In a village in Egypt, young men dream of migrating to Europe where they hope to realise all the good things they lack at home: money, freedom, new horizons. In Vienna, Egyptian migrants long back home. Their tales of migration reveal that the realities of living in Europe are more complex and nuanced than they themselves might have dreamt of. Paradise, both sides of this fictional dialogue tell, is always elsewhere. And perhaps happiness lies not in making old dreams come true, but in finding new ones.


Trailer


Language spoken in film: Arabic, German
Language of subtitles: English, Arabic
Year of production: 2009
Country of Production: Netherlands, Austria
Running time: 44 minutes

Contact: daswa@xs4all.nl

Press kit (pdf file)

Main page of the Messages from Paradise project