The Film Verdict: What was the inspiration behind Smoke Sauna Sisterhood?
Anna Hints: It’s actually rooted in my childhood when my grandfather died. We went to the
smoke sauna and my grandmother told us how he had cheated on her. It was a cathartic
moment, and after that we were able to bury him with a smile. So, it occurred to me that it
could be interesting to tell women’s stories through the tradition of the smoke sauna. It took a
while, partly because my original producer died before we started filming.
TFV: How long did the filming take? We see the transition from one season to the next
in the film.
AH: Indeed. We had 70 separate shooting days, most of them inside the sauna, but we also
have outdoor scenes in nature. I wanted to reflect the cyclical aspect of time and nature.
TFV: Visually, the film conveys the down-to-earth nature of the sauna, but also a
timeless, almost mystical quality. How did you plan that with your cinematographer?
AH: That was exactly the balance we were aiming for. I already knew Mats, thecinematographer, from film school, and we got to know each other better by actually going to
the sauna together multiple times before we started shooting. I did the same thing with my
composer; it helped us bond and better understand what we were working on. The sauna is a
great exercise in transcending your identity.
TFV: Speaking of identity, there are multiple extreme close-ups of various body parts,
where you can almost no longer tell if the speaker is male or female. Was that
deliberate, to convey the philosophy of how we’re all equal in the sauna?
AH: That was exactly it. We wanted to show it all blends together when you’re inside the
sauna, and how you can have naked bodies without sexualizing them, which is something
we’ve been conditioned to do because of advertising. Having a female body, although I
identify as non-binary, I’m used to glances all the time. The sauna removes the sexual aspect.
TFV: On that note, what’s it like to premiere at Sundance? American viewers have
famously different attitudes towards nudity compared to Europeans.
AH: That’s super interesting to me, because not only are we in America, we’re in Utah,
where the Mormon faith comes with various hang-ups about nudity, which tends to be
sexualized. I’m looking forward to engaging with the local community, not just at the festival
but also with special screenings in Salt Lake City. Having said that, it’s not just Americans
who get weird about stuff: I’ve had people in Europe telling me we shouldn’t have the shots
with menstrual blood, but I think art shouldn’t be comfortable. It should affect you.
TFV: So, what was the last movie that made you uncomfortable?
AH: EO. I think discomfort is a good thing, and that film is a great example of it, because
discomfort doesn’t have to be separate from beauty. It can be a very poetic thing.
