''Smoke Sauna Sisterhood'' ( vro, Savvusanna sõsarad, ) is a 2023

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

written and directed by Anna Hints in her feature directorial debut. It is about a group of women who gather in a

smoke sauna The Finnish sauna ( sv, bastu) is a substantial part of Finnish and Estonian culture. It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists at the December 17, 2020 meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguardi ...

where they clean the dirt from their ashamed and aching bodies. It was selected as the Estonian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards is an upcoming ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which will honor the best 2023 in film, films of 2023, and is expected to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Ange ...

. It is a co-production between Estonia, France and Iceland. ''Smoke Sauna Sisterhood'' had its world premiere at the

2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * ''The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee * ...

on 22 January 2023, where it competed in the World Cinema Documentary Competition and won the Directing Award at the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

Release

Festivals

''Smoke Sauna Sisterhood'' had its world premiere on 22 January 2023, at the

, then it was screened on 17 March of that year at the

Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX is the official name for the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, an international documentary film festival established in 2003 and held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. CPH:DOX has since grown to become one of the largest ...

, on 31 March at the Stockfish Film Festival, on 23 April at the San Francisco International Film Festival, on 13 May at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity, on 18 May at the Barcelona Documentary Film Festival, on 19 May at the Seattle International Film Festival, on 24 June at the

Filmfest München The Munich International Film Festival (german: Filmfest München) is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late-June/earl ...

, on 31 July at the

New Zealand International Film Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, on 4 August at the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...

and on 29 September in the Documentary Competition at the

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second ...

Theatrical

It was commercially released on 23 March 2023, in Estonian theaters. It was released at cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 13 October 2023.

Reception

Critical reception

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Estonian submission for Academy Awards 2023 films 2023 documentary films Estonian documentary films French documentary films Icelandic documentary films Estonian-language films Documentaries about women Sundance Film Festival award-winning films 2023 directorial debut films 2020s French films Sauna European Film Awards winners (films)