Paradise - Three Journeys in This World

Elina Hirvonen, Finland, 2007

Synopsis
The central figure in this film is 23-year-old Bakary from Mali, who left his family behind to build a better life in Europe. He found a job in a tomato nursery in Spain, but does not have a residence permit and therefore no right to housing. Along with some 20 partners in misfortune, he sleeps on the street. The film consists of three parts; in the first, we meet Bakary in Spain. The second part is set in Rabat, Morocco, where many Africans dream of a trip to the European continent. Many try to cross the water, but most are caught by the police and get sent back. For example, the police left Adam behind in the Sahara Desert with 55 other people. He walked back to civilisation in 25 days, a trip that many of his companions did not survive. The final episode is set in the village where Bakary was born and where his family resides, poorly but peacefully. These are shocking stories about the imagined paradise that many Africans believe Europe to be, stories that stand in sharp contrast to the great visual beauty of the film.