About the Film

One day at the end of the 1800s, 14-year-old Lise’s life changes forever. She is the eldest of her siblings, the first in her family to go to school and full of hope and confidence in life. But when her mother goes into labour, it quickly appears that something is wrong. As night falls and the labour progresses, Lise begins to understand that a day that began in childhood might end with her becoming the woman of the house.
Tea Lindburg’s debut film won the Best Director Award at the 2021 San Sebastian Film Festival. With its feminist outlook, the film depicts Lise’s forced transformation, evoking a sense of rebellion against tradition, dogma and the history of women’s repression. As in Heaven is a historical drama which reminds us that both the systematic oppression against women and women’s hope in the face of it are deeply rooted in history.