PARADISE ON EARTH

Specials

Photographer Hans Madej discovers a nearly deserted village in eastern Poland. Here he meets a group of old people who have used the bible like a “screenplay” for their lives. In the thirties, the “peasant prophet” Eliasz assigned them biblical roles and told them to start building the future world-capital – a paradise on earth – on a nearby clearing. Some years later, Eliasz vanished. For the villagers, he remained a symbol of hope – enabling them to endure sixty years of revolution, war and their aftermath. The photographer embarks on an adventurous journey on the trail of the lost prophet. It leads him to Stalin’s camps in Siberia.
Das Paradies auf Erden / Das Paradies auf Erden
DEU 2003 / 90 min
Director: Hans Madej
  • Screenplay: Hans Madej,Fedor Mosnak,Günter Hablik
  • Cinematographer: Hans Madej
  • Editor: Günter Hablik
  • Music: Annette Focks
  • Producer: Jörg Bundschuh
  • Production Company: Kick Film - München in Zusammenarbeit mit dem ZDF - Mainz und in Kooperation mit Arte - Mainz / in association with ZDF - Mainz and in cooperation with Arte - Mainz
  • Rights Holder: Kick Film - München
Photographer Hans Madej discovers a nearly deserted village in eastern Poland. Here he meets a group of old people who have used the bible like a “screenplay” for their lives. In the thirties, the “peasant prophet” Eliasz assigned them biblical roles and told them to start building the future world-capital – a paradise on earth – on a nearby clearing. Some years later, Eliasz vanished. For the villagers, he remained a symbol of hope – enabling them to endure sixty years of revolution, war and their aftermath. The photographer embarks on an adventurous journey on the trail of the lost prophet. It leads him to Stalin’s camps in Siberia.
  • Screenplay: Hans Madej,Fedor Mosnak,Günter Hablik
  • Cinematographer: Hans Madej
  • Editor: Günter Hablik
  • Music: Annette Focks
  • Producer: Jörg Bundschuh
  • Production Company: Kick Film - München in Zusammenarbeit mit dem ZDF - Mainz und in Kooperation mit Arte - Mainz / in association with ZDF - Mainz and in cooperation with Arte - Mainz
  • Rights Holder: Kick Film - München