Paradise is Burning

A striking coming-of-age tale and intimate portrait of the strong bonds of sisterhood, PARADISE IS BURNING is a tender yet refreshing narrative feature film debut from director Mika Gustafson, featuring standout performances from its three young leads. In a working-class area of Sweden, sisters 16-year-old Laura (Bianca Delbravo in a remarkable debut), twelve-year-old Mira, and seven-year-old Steffi, get by on their own, left to their own devices by an absent mother. With summer on the way and no parents around, life is wild and carefree, vivacious and anarchic. But when social services demand a family meeting, the eldest, Laura, must find someone to impersonate their mother, or else the girls could be taken into foster care and separated. Laura keeps the threat a secret, to avoid worrying her younger sisters, but as the moment of truth draws closer, new tensions arise. While their futures hang in the balance, soon the three sisters are forced to negotiate the fine line between the euphoria of total freedom and the harsh realities of growing up.