Paradise Is Burning

Only available to our accredited audience. Her mom has disappeared yet again, so 16-year-old Laura is running the household and taking care of her pubescent sister Mira and little Steffi. It’s summer and the girls live in a working-class neighbourhood where everyone seems to know them. Meetings with girlfriends in the park, her first cigarette, forays to the supermarket. But when the local social services announce they’ll be stopping by for a visit, Laura has to find someone to pretend to be her mother, otherwise the siblings will be separated and placed in foster care. A lifestyle of freedom and anarchy butts up against harsh social reality. Growing up becomes an emotional rollercoaster. The camera attempts to keep up with these heroines as they seize their days. When the sisters romp together, dance and snuggle up at night, life seems like just one big game. But what can they do when they run out of laundry detergent and there isn’t any money to buy some?