''Paradise'' (german: Paradies) is the collective name of three films directed by
Ulrich Seidl
Ulrich Maria Seidl (born 24 November 1952 in Vienna) is an Austrian film director, writer and producer. Among other awards, his film ''Dog Days'' won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice in 2001.
His 2012 film '' Paradise: Love'' competed for the Palme ...
: ''
Paradise: Love'' (2012), ''
Paradise: Faith'' (2012) and ''
Paradise: Hope'' (2013). They focus on three women from one family; one of them travels to Kenya as a sex tourist, one has to spend time at a
weight loss camp
A fat camp, weight loss camp, or fat farm is a type of residential program where people who are overweight or obese go to attempt to lose weight through exercise and lifestyle changes.
Overview
One goal of weight loss camps is to help the guest ...
, and one tries to propagate Catholicism.
The project is an Austrian majority production with co-producers in Germany and France. It was conceived as one feature film, but after a long gestation became three entries forming a trilogy. The first installment, ''
Paradise: Love'', competed for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Seidl originally planned to premiere all three films at the same event, but after the Cannes selection decided to roll out parts two and three, ''
Paradise: Faith'' and ''
Paradise: Hope'', at other major film festivals. The individual films are named after the three
theological virtues
Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they hav ...
, and focus on how the protagonists conceive their view of paradise.
Cast
* Maria Hofstätter as Anna Maria
* Nabil Saleh as Nabil
* Margarete Tiesel as Teresa
*
Inge Maux as Teresa's friend
* Gabriel Mwarua
* Peter Kazungu
* Carlos Mkutano
Production
The project was conceived as one 130-minute feature film. The majority producer of the film was the director's Austrian company Ulrich Seidl Film, with Germany's Tat Film and France's Société Parisienne as co-producers. Further co-production support came from the broadcasters
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of the ...
,
Arte
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...
and Degeto. The project received funding from the Austrian Film Institute, Filmfonds Wien, Land Niederösterreich,
Eurimages
Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages ...
, the French
National Center of Cinematography and Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg.
Filming took place between 22 October 2009 and 14 September 2010 in Kenya and Vienna.
Themes
The director summarized the theme of the trilogy as follows:
All three women fall in love, experience love and, along the way, disappointment. For the daughter at the diet camp (where overweight teens spend their vacations), this is the first love of her life, with all its absolutes. For her mother, who travels to Kenya to find love - or sex – it‘s a conscious choice after years of being disappointed. And her sister, who loves no one but Jesus, and who has thus found a spiritual, wholly cerebral sexual love, goes even further: What you can‘t find on earth, you long for in heaven, the promised paradise.
References
External links
*
Press kit for the Cannes Film Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise
Austrian drama films
Austrian film series
Films directed by Ulrich Seidl