Paris Paradies
Paradis Paris (Dear Paris) by Marjane Satrapi
France | 2024 | 1h 30m | French
In Paris, several people see their lives transformed when death unexpectedly comes close to them. Giovanna, a celebrated Italian opera singer, wakes up in a morgue after being mistakenly declared dead and becomes distressed when the media shows little interest in her supposed passing. Mike, a British stuntman who risks his life professionally, begins questioning his choices after his son is injured. Dolorès, an eccentric elderly Colombian woman, makes a pact with God concerning her own death. Other Parisians face grief, loneliness, love and personal crises in interconnected stories that combine dark comedy with melancholy. As each character confronts mortality, they rediscover what makes life meaningful.
Marjane Satrapi (1969–2026) was an Iranian-French graphic novelist, illustrator, screenwriter and film director. She was born in Rasht, Iran, and grew up in Tehran, where she attended a French-language school. During her teenage years, she moved to Vienna before returning to Iran to study visual communication. She later settled permanently in France.
Satrapi achieved international recognition through her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis, which depicts her childhood during the Iranian Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War and her experiences as a young Iranian living in Europe. She adapted the book into the animated feature Persepolis with Vincent Paronnaud in 2007. The film received the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Her subsequent films include Chicken with Plums, The Gang of the Jotas, The Voices and Radioactive, a biographical drama about scientist Marie Curie. Satrapi’s work frequently combined dark humour with themes of identity, exile, political repression, mortality and personal freedom. In 2024, she received the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.
