Mai Elkamhawi

THE ROAD TO PARADISE

Mai Elkamhawi • 20 mins • Egypt • 2024

What makes a 16 years old boy takes a decision to go on a poorly prepared boat and risk his own life to flee his country?

The Road to Paradise is about the filmmaker’s personal journey back to her family home village “Mit Suhail” in Egypt, in search for answers why her cousin made this decision 16 years ago.

Through intimate interviews, the film explores the collective grief in the village where most of the boys take on this fatal journey to Italy, and tells the story from the perceptive of those who are left behind.