Paradise Is Burning

Paradise Is Burning is a 2023 drama film co-written and directed by, in her fictional feature debut.

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
as Zara
as Sasha

Release

The film premiered in the Orizzonti section at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, in which Gustafson was awarded best director.
In October 2023 the film received the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at the 67th London Film Festival.

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. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".