Last year’s Venice International Film Festival was a grand stage for Mika Gustafson’s film “Paradise Is Burning”, co-written with renowned Swedish TV actor, Alexander Öhrstrand. The narrative unfolds around three teen sisters navigating life sans their regularly absent mother. Premiering in the Orizzonti (Horizon) section, the film tingles with nervous energy, yet it also bursts with unbridled happiness. The lead teen actor was hailed as a future star.
Engagingly charming, Gustafson explains, “Orizzonti is fascinating. It’s about what’s emerging and fresh, but also about competition. The idea of winning a prize excites us!”
The movie was highly appreciated, and as Gustafson and Öhrstrand were getting ready to leave, they received a call from the event organisers. They were requested to prolong their stay by a day at the luxurious Excelsior Hotel to attend the concluding ceremony.
With a humorously optimistic tone, Mika suggested, “Maybe I’ve won a certificate or something,” and Gustafson added, “Or some kind of ‘woman’s award’,” and they both laughed.
Öhrstrand’s instinct already hinted at some grandeur, “They wouldn’t accomodate us at the Excelsior if it weren’t something major. Not sure if you’ve ever visited the Excelsior.”
And yes, stepping into the Excelsior feels like being transported into Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice”.
Humouring their modest nature, upon entering their room at the ornate hotel, he remarks to Mika, “Surprisingly small for such a posh hotel” and she naively replies, “This is just the corridor.”
However wavy the recounting of this story, the bottom line remains that Gustafson and Öhrstrand represent some of the most humble and grounded individuals among the Swedish art-house film creatives. Gustafson’s directorial prowess was recognised with the best director award in the Orizzonti section, ushering the film into the realm of global distribution.
Born in the year 1988, the acclaimed director is an alumnus of Valand Film Academy at the University of Gothenburg. In her graduating year, she was the recipient of the Nordic Talents award. Her debut drama feature, ‘Paradise Is Burning’, exhibits a refreshingly unique narrative style. One can identify influences of Swedish eccentric, Lukas Moodysson, and British realist, Andrea Arnold, but the film exudes an idiosyncratic woodland charm that differentiates it from others. The majority of the film’s plot unfolds not strictly within bucolic settings, but amidst a verdant Scandinavian summer, with drooping greenery and untamed meadows.
Gustafson stated her aim for specificity. “I desired it to represent a personal reality. Being brought up in different countries, we should still be able to spot some familiar aspects in this personal realm around adolescence,” she explained. She also mentioned the painstaking search for the right location, which consumed nearly a year, and how the set designer revamped the entire home set.
Adding to Gustafson’s remarks, Öhrstrand emphasised the vibrant nature of the garden. “Contrary to the solitary life of the children, the environment should not be bleak. It should instead be colourful. Laura, the 16-year-old girl, is experiencing a sexual awakening amidst the lush and vast nature.”
‘Paradise Is Burning’ boasts of several standout features, among which is the next-level acting by Bianca Delbravo. The eldest sister, who shoulders heavy responsibilities, starts her day by dealing with a younger sibling who has wet the bed. Further complications arise when social services inform they want to speak with her absent mother, news which Laura conceals from her family. She seeks refuge from her problems by trespassing into the houses of more privileged neighbours and reading their diaries.
The film might appear as clear-cut social realism superficially. However, Delbravo infuses life and energy into her character, as she teeters anxiously on the edge of adulthood, suggesting a promising career in mainstream acting.
The process of selecting the cast, Gustafson admits, took almost 10 months as they had to leaf through roughly 1,000 potential actresses. The hunt for the right trio to portray the sisters was both intricate and exhilarating. In order to gel with his director’s role, he always tends to immerse himself fully into the casting process, sometimes even doing the casting himself. He included Alex in the process, who confessed that it was his first time being part of a casting process even though he had attended castings before and had a good understanding of what worked and what didn’t.
Öhrstrand takes up the narrative halfway to express how he stumbled upon Laura, their perfect cast. He just spotted her while running regular errands at a local grocery store.
As Gustafson always reminds him, casting goes beyond scheduled auditions. It’s about always being on the lookout as potential talent could be found anywhere, even in public places like a supermarket or a train station.
This memorable encounter is something Öhrstrand, a seasoned actor who has graced popular Swedish series like Wallander and The Bridge, recounts with great enthusiasm.
While he was engaged in a widely acclaimed Swedish TV series set in the 70s, he found himself sporting a distinctive handlebar moustache. One day, he was out shopping for breakfast when a loud, uncharacteristically gravelly, yet feminine voice arrested his attention. It came from Bianca, a girl in an oversized tracksuit, energetically arguing on her phone. Immediately sensing her unique aura, he phoned Mika, insisting that he had to meet this girl. But when Mika couldn’t make it, she made an unconventional proposal: to ask Bianca for her number himself. This idea, he recalls, seemed somewhat ludicrous considering he was a 40-year-old man, garbed like a protagonist from an adult film of the 70s.
Despite his lingering scepticism and anxiety around the situation potentially ruining their entire project, Gustafson insisted that he take her number.
He continues his explanation, stating that during his nervous encounter with the phone, he dialled a wrong number and missed digits. A year later, as they were strolling and discussing their script, they chanced upon some children. Intrigued by one child, Mika’s distinctive voice, they encountered her once more. Gustafson remarked on her unusually deep voice.
This was somewhat unexpected – like something you would stumble upon in Ireland. The unusual method they initially used to interact with her – yelling on the phone, completely contrasted her genuine persona. When he first met her, she was gentle, unable to ride a bicycle, and held a proclivity for writing poetry at home, probably never having been involved in a fight before.
Their cast also included two more unprofessional actors to portray siblings. Young debutantes have often delivered impressive performances in naturalistic film patterns, but there’s an element of divine intervention each time, despite the casting team’s best efforts. Guaranteeing their screen magic isn’t always certain – compelling the director to adopt a more nurturing and guiding role perhaps.
In agreement, Gustafson adds that this unpredictable outcome is partly why he decided to start directing. As an enthusiastic fan of actors and a curious observer, he opines that when a scene comes alive, it exhibits an almost magical aura. It reminds him of matchmakers introducing two friends with the hope of them falling in love – though the outcome remains uncertain.
Öhrstrand also acknowledges the director’s mentor role, elaborating their comprehensive strategy in preparing for the film. They enrolled their cast in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, engaging them as authentic siblings and focussed on simplifying their roles and scenes rather than building complex character arcs. This guideline cautioned the actors not to overanalyze their characters and concentrate instead on the scene’s essence.
Despite the odds, their hard work did eventually pay off. Their film was screened in Venice, where it clinched a coveted award. Delbravo even attended the ceremony in a distinctive deconstructed dinner jacket. And that, is how their story commenced.
In line with Gustafson’s advise, one should refrain from participating in festivals or competing for rewards purely for the sake of it. Rather, one should be motivated by genuine intrigue and curiosity. Activities he engaged in were indeed enjoyable. In an echoed affirmation, Gustafson validated how truly wonderful the experience was – twice. It’s no secret that Swedes are experts at creating and enjoying delightful moments. The film “Paradise Is Burning” will be hitting the screens on the forthcoming Friday, the 30th of August.