Paradise Is Burning

Paradise Is Burning (Swedish: Paradiset brinner) is a 2023 drama film co-written and directed by Mika Gustafson [sv], in her fictional feature debut.^[2][3]

Paradise Is Burning
Directed by	Mika Gustafson [sv]
Written by	Mika Gustafson, Alexander Öhrstrand
Starring	Bianca Delbravo Dilvin Asaad Safira Mossberg Ida Engvoll
Cinematography	Sine Vadstrup Brooker
Edited by	Anders Skov
Music by	Giorgio Giampà
Release date	September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08) (Venice)
Running time	109 min[1]
Country	Sweden
Language	Swedish

Plot

Three sisters aged 7 to 15, live alone after their mother vanishes for whole swathes of time. When the social services demand a family meeting, oldest sister Laura plans to find a stand in for their mother.

Cast

• Bianca Delbravo as Laura
• Dilvin Asaad as Mira
• Safira Mossberg as Steffi
• Ida Engvoll as Hanna
• Marta Oldenburg [sv] as Zara
• Mitja Siren [sv] as Sasha

Release

The film premiered in the Orizzonti section at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,^[4][5] in which Gustafson was awarded best director.^[6]

In October 2023 the film received the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at the 67th London Film Festival.^[7]

Reception

Paradise Is Burning has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10.^[8] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[9]