Paradise! Paradise!

Kurdwin Ayub captures the intimacy of a trip she made with her father. Family visits alternate with real estate tours searching for an ideal apartment: her father’s will, as he’s planning to retire, is to find a place so he can finally return to that stateless territory he proudly calls “homeland”. The ghost of an endless war seems to slip through under the door, amidst child play, dances, and family meals. The touristic attractions where they pose for photos include the holes left by gravel-breaking bombs, almost like geographic accidents. As if the earth opened up on each step of the way, the tour becomes a trench image as real as the game sessions where kids play and pretend to be victims, avengers, and murderers, while the music blasts and the camera keeps recording.