Paradise Is Burning

This beautiful portrayal of the fierceness of sisterly love is evocative of films such as Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Denis Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang (2015). At the age of 16, Laura (Bianca Delbravo) is the eldest of three sisters living in one of Sweden’s less salubrious suburbs. Seemingly abandoned by their addict mother, Laura has assumed parenting duties for 12-year-old Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and 7-year-old Steffi (Safira Mossberg). Without adult supervision or regular income, the three live in an atmosphere of barely-controlled chaos, doing their utmost not to attract the attention of any authorities who might feel obliged to step in and take charge. However, time runs out when Social Services call looking to meet the girls’ mother, sending Laura on a quest to find someone to play the role so that the three tightly-bonded sisters might stay together.