Screening times:
Friday, Nov 8, 6:30 PM
Saturday, Nov 9, 6:30 PM - Half-capacity screening
Mika Gustafson | Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Finland | 2023 | 108m | Swedish with English subtitles
with Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Safira Mossberg, Ida Engvoll, Mitja Siren, Martha Oldenburg, Andrea Edwards
In a working-class community in Sweden, three sisters live on their own without a parental figure. Laura (16), is in charge, taking care of Mira (12), and Steffi (7). They'll do anything to survive, from breaking and entering to shoplifting at the grocery store — their lives are wild, chaotic, and largely free of responsibility, especially during these summer months. Social services is the antagonist in their lives, bringing the constant threat of foster care that would see the sisters separated. This forces Laura to find someone to pretend to be their mother. Enter 30-year-old Hannah, who connects with Laura but has her own troubles. Despite Laura's street smarts, she can't understand what Hannah is going through or why Hannah might not be the ideal person to solve the sisters' existential dilemma.
For anyone who saw the British indie, Scrapper, screened last fall at Carbon Arc Cinema, or perhaps Sean Baker's The Florida Project, Paradise Is Burning could be considered a Swedish companion piece. It takes a sincere and sympathetic look at the unfettered lives of adolescent girls, boasting fantastic performances from the young actors, Bianca Delbravo as Laura, Dilvin Asaad as Mira, and Safira Mossberg as Steffi, the baby sister.
Director Mika Gustafson calls her film — Paradiset Brinner in Swedish — "a declaration of love to sisterhood... a bond that’s stronger than everything else. A blessing and a curse all at the same time. For me the film is about the transience of time and life. About memories and reconciliation. I want to show what it’s like to be a human being in those moments when euphoric freedom lies cheek to cheek with total despair."
"Paradise Is Burning exudes joy, but also a sense of imminent collapse — and decidedly no cuteness." -Jonathan Romney, Financial Times
"Swedish writer-director Mika Gustafson’s feature debut has raw edges and some sloppy stitching in places, but the whole is fresh, directional and beautifully cut."-Leslie Felperin, Guardian (UK)
"Much like a firework display the sisters witness as a local funfair, the youth of Laura, Mira and Steffi in ‘Paradise is Burning’ is fleeting and bright, often violent yet wholeheartedly beautiful..."-Grace Dodd, Little White Lies
Best Director (Orrizonti), Best Screenwriting (Authors Under 40 Award) - Venice IFF
Best Debut - London Film Festival
Best Film, Best Production Design - Guldbagge Awards
Tickets $8.75 ($8 cash at the door if available).
Saturday half-capacity screening
