Paradise Without People

Set during the height of Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis, Paradise Without People chronicles the harrowing and emotional journey of two Syrian refugee families as they attempt to build a new life for themselves after fleeing their war-torn homeland. Although mothers Taimaa and Nour gave birth at the same hospital in Greece, their quests to seek asylum for their loved ones lead them down radically different paths. Each passing year, their lives bring different joys and challenges, from learning a new language, to coping with social isolation in a foreign culture, and navigating complicated marital strife. Caught between humanitarian and political forces largely out of their control, fate and raw resiliency can determine each family’s chances of success. Directed by Emmy-nominated journalist Francesca Trianni, Paradise Without People brings a glimmer of humanity to an international emergency that is too often simplified into a talking point for today’ s polarized politics. (Woodstock Film Festival)