SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD Documentary

Estonia’s Oscar^® submission for Best International Feature

Screening to be followed by a conversation with director Anna Hints and producer Marianne Ostrat.

Tucked away in a lush forest in southern Estonia, a group of women gather seasonally in a communal smoke sauna. A traditional practice of the Võro community, recognized on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, they bare their all – mind and body – shedding grit and grime in a ritualistic bath while sharing their innermost secrets. Framed in closeups in the dimly lit sauna cabin, the women’s bodies are not obscured, but celebrated in an abstracted landscape cradling, touching, exfoliating and cleansing one another, as voices flow openly and intimately in a dialogue free from the confines of patriarchy. While some stories are painful and harrowing, others overflow with joy and understanding. Recipient of the Directing Award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and Estonia’s official Oscar® submission for Best International Feature, Anna Hints’ immersive debut offers us a look through the steam, sweat and smoke into the palpable, healing powers of solidarity and sisterhood. –Anna Li