Travelling Distribution

Paradise Heights

A film by

Karl Kai, Robert Mentov

Synopsis

Seven-year-old Lah, a narcoleptic girl in Toronto’s co-op housing, discovers an otherworldly bond with her late mother through vivid dreams of the Burmese jungle. As visions blur reality, a cherished family heirloom pulls her between memory, longing, and a realm where the past and present intertwine.

Highlights

Tags

2025

Drama

Fiction

Genre

Drama

Country

Canada

Year

2025

Length

22'58"

Themes

Teen friendly

Immigration

Social and cultural identity

BIPOC

with
Samara Moolaweh Bolan, Jeh Htoo, Shai Gay, Dah Ku Paw
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Production
Dwight Jantzi, Bryan Dickie, Daria Zapriagaeva (Nocte Films)
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Screenplay
Karl Kai, Robert Mentov
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Cinematography
Robert Mentov
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Artistic Direction
Caitlyn Taguibao
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Editing
Karl Kai
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Sound Design
Albert Quan
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Music
Dylann Miller

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Director's Statement

Paradise Heights was born from a desire to tell stories that exist in the margins, of people and places often overlooked. Set in a government-subsidized co-op in Toronto, home to a tight-knit community of Karen refugees from Myanmar, the film began as a documentary exploration before evolving into a hybrid approach. Real residents portray fictionalized versions of themselves, blurring the line between reality and narrative. This allowed us to capture an authentic sense of place and identity while using magical realism to express deeper emotional truths.

At its core, Paradise Heights is about inheritance - not just material, but the memories, histories, and traumas we carry. It explores heirlooms as intangible, suggesting that our past stays within us no matter where we go. For the Karen refugees at the heart of the film, home isn’t just a place but something they carry with them. Displaced by war, they navigate an unfamiliar land while holding onto their history, striving for a future in a country that often feels distant. The film exists in this liminal space, where home is both here and elsewhere, shaped as much by the past as by an uncertain future.

The title, Paradise Heights, reflects both refuge and isolation, a fragile in-between space, neither the home left behind nor the future longed for. Yet, in reconnecting with their past and embracing their identity, there is a hope to find something new, turning uncertainty into possibility.

Karl Kai and Robert Mentov

Karl Kai

Karl Kai is a Hong Kong-born Canadian writer, director, and editor. His films, showcased at FNC (Festival du Nouveau Cinéma) and DOXA, blend naturalism with a surreal, lyrical quality. Working with both actors and non-actors, he crafts immersive, emotionally resonant narratives driven by authenticity and deeply felt performances.

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Filmography

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Robert Mentov

Robert Mentov is a Canadian filmmaker with over a decade of experience in independent cinema. He has studied under Apichatpong Weerasethakul and participated in international film labs with B2B Doc, Tabor, and Sacdoc. Currently, he is involved in the production of several feature films, including the Burmese documentary White Tiger Column.

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