Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales, one of the leading sales agents for documentaries, has acquired the feature-length documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” ahead of its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival.
The film portrays the Estonian smoke sauna tradition, known as “savvusanna kombõ.” As well as telling the history of the smoke saunas as a place to give birth, director Anna Hints focuses on the women nowadays who come together in the saunas to share their secrets and intimate experiences.
“ ‘Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’ is a unique screening experience, best to watch with friends,” said Autlooks’ director of sales, Salma Abdalla. “Composed for the big screen, Anna Hints crafted a narrative that feels both extremely intimate and inclusive. The esthetically beautiful setting of a smoke sauna in the Estonian forests is filled with humanity, authenticity and humor.”
“No story too shameful, no burden too heavy to carry, when you share it with your sisterhood, and having Salma and Autlook team feels like we’ve added to our sisterhood,” Hints said.
The film is produced by Marianne Ostrat of Alexandra Film. The co-producers are France’s Juliette Cazanave, Iceland’s Hlín Jóhannesdóttir and Estonia’s Eero Talvistu. The film will be released theatrically in Estonia in March by ACME Film.
The film is produced by Alexandra Film, Kepler22 Productions and Ursus Parvus, with participation from Estonian Film Institute, The Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tartu Film Fund, CNC, Sacem, Icelandic Film Centre and Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.
Autlook’s Sundance slate also include Ido Mizrahy’s “The Longest Goodbye” and Lin Alluna’s “Twice Colonized.”