The Paradise

Canadian director Jeremy Comte's debut feature, presented in the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlinale, is an ambitious tale intertwining two stories between Ghana and Québec to explore the theme of paternal absence and the search for self. The film, divided into two parts titled "The Boat" and "The Captain," follows the journeys of Ghanaian teenager Kojo, played by Daniel Atsu Hukporti, and young Canadian Tony, played by Joey Boivin Desmeules. Comte constructs a visual and emotional dialogue between two distant worlds, alternating the bustling streets of Accra with the isolation of Québec, also employing at times a fabulistic language to capture the spectrum of adolescence.

Despite some criticism for a narrative structure perceived as overly schematic, *Paradise* confirms the ambitions of a director interested in closing open emotional circles and investigating the hidden connections between distant landscapes and destinies.