Documentary film by Anna Hints
In a hut deep in the snow-covered forest, women of all ages and social classes meet up to take a sauna together. Taboos fall with the covers. Gentle voices whisper unspoken fears and painful realizations into the protective darkness of the steam-filled sauna. Caught by the quiet listening of their companions, the women tell of their first loves, but also of sexual assaults and unbearable birth pains. Filmmaker Anna Hints accompanies this transformative ritual in SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD. The documentary, almost mystical in its intimacy, shows women not as they are, but as they are becoming, telling of the changes that are inscribed in a woman's life and body. Thanks to its deep empathy and humanity, the film provides an unembellished yet always extremely focused look inside the smoke saunas - a tradition that has been declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
With an authentic voice, the film interweaves female experiences of pain and life with a protective layer of natural materials: wood, heat and birch branches are the coordinates in this archaic and enchanting film, which shows with relish how community can develop as long as a shared space is available. SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD is reminiscent of classic Vermeer or Rembrandt paintings and makes the healing effect of feminine solidarity palpable. At the Sundance Film Festival, Anna Hints was awarded the prize for Best Director in the "World Cinema Documentary" series.
