The Somali film, The Village Next to Paradise, directed by Mo Harawe, has emerged victorious at Austria’s Diagonale Awards 2025. The film took home the Grand Diagonale Award of the Province of Styria for Best Feature Film.
Harawe’s film is a co-production involving Austria, France, and Somalia. Last year, it became the first Somali film to appear in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to the Best Feature Film award, The Village Next to Paradise also won the Diagonale Award for Outstanding Production Services, courtesy of Freibeuter Film. Mostafa El Kasheef, the film’s cinematographer, also received the Diagonale Award from the Association of Austrian Cinematographers AAC for Best Cinematography Feature Film.
The Diagonale Award on its Instagram page revealed the award winners, and the Drehbuchforum Wien, which is a forum for screenwriters in Austria congratulated Harawe on its Instagram page, saying: “We extend our warmest congratulations to Mo Harawe on winning the Thomas Pluch Main Prize for his screenplay The Village Next to Paradise.”
The Diagonale Awards, considered one of Austria’s biggest film prizes, totalling around €130,000, were presented by international juries. The award winners also received the golden diagonal nut, designed and realised by artist Anna Paul. The organisers added: “All award winners receive a work of art, designed and realised by artist Anna Paul: the golden diagonal nut, a true-to-scale bronze icon of a nutmeg that fits in every trouser or skirt pocket – a companion for all occasions!”
The Diagonale Awards awarded film projects in various categories, including documentary films, short films, editing, sound design, and film scores.
Asides the Somali’s The Village Next to Paradise, other notable winners included Lisa Polster, who won the Grand Diagonale Award of the Province of Styria for Best Documentary for Bürglkopf, and Reza Rasouli, who took home the Diagonale Award for Best Short Feature Film for Night of Passage, amongst others.
Here’s a list of all the winners at the 2025 Diagonale Awards
- Grand Diagonale Award of the Province of Styria | Best Feature Film – Mo Harawe for The Village Next to Paradise
- Grand Diagonale Award of the Province of Styria | Best Documentary – Lisa Polster for Bürglkopf
- Diagonale Award Innovative Cinema by the City of Graz | | Beste innovative Experimental or Animationfilm – Michael Gülzow for Der tote Winkel der Wahrnehmung
- Diagonale Award Best Short Feature Film – Reza Rasouli for Night of Passage
- Diagonale Award Best Short Documentary Film – Josephine Ahnelt for lll
- Diagonale Youth Jury Award | Best Young Talent Film – Lisa Polster for Bürglkopf
- Diagonale Award Editing of the Film Editing Association aea| Best Artistic Editing for a Feature Film – Roland Stöttinger for Mond
- Diagonale Award Editing of the Film Editing Association aea| Best Artistic Editing for a Documentary Film – Michael Palm for Henry Fonda for President
- Diagonale Award from the Association of Austrian Cinematographers AAC | Best Cinematography Feature Film – Mostafa El Kasheef for The Village Next to Paradise
- Diagonale Award from the Association of Austrian Cinematographers AAC | Best Cinematography Documentary Film – Serafin Spitzer and Serhiy „Stefan“ Stetsenko for Dear Beautiful Beloved
- Diagonale Award Sound Design | Best Sound Design Documentary Film ssociation – Filmton Austria – Benedikt Palier for Bluish
- Diagonale Award Sound Design | Best Sound Design Documentary Film ssociation – Filmton Austria – Mariia Nesterenko and Andrii Rogachov for Dear Beautiful Beloved
- Diagonale Award Film Score Best Score Feature Film by ACOM – Austrian Composers Association – Dorit Chrysler for Happyland
- Diagonale Award Film Score Best Score Documentary Film by ACOM – Austrian Composers Association – Alicia Mendy & Baby Volcano for Girls & Gods
- Diagonale Award for Best Set Design from the Austrian Filmdesigners Association (VÖF) – Klaudia Kiczak for Perla
- Diagonale Award for Best Costume Design from the Austrian Filmdesigners Association (VÖF) – Monika Buttinger for Perla
- Diagonale Acting Award | Remarkable Performance by Austrian Actors – Marie-Luise Stockinger for Gina
- Diagonale Acting Award | Remarkable Performance by Austrian Actors – Florentina Holzinger for Mond
- Diagonale Awards by VAM for Outstanding Production Services – Ruth Beckermann Filmproduktion for Favoriten
- Diagonale Awards by VAM for Outstanding Production Services – Freibeuter Film for The Village Next to Paradise
