Building on the smoke sauna tradition of Southern Estonia (included by UNESCO on its “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”), filmmaker Anna Hints brings together a group of Estonian women to share the smoke sauna experience and to share some of their most personal stories. The result is Anna’s masterfully constructed and emotionally layered Sundance award-winning documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood”.

Joining Ken on the pod, Anna discusses how she conceived of the smoke sauna in her film as a safe space and a source of mutual support for the women in her film. What was the process of finding a smoke sauna, casting the film and shooting it over multiple seasons? How did she work with her cinematographer Ants Tammik to build trust with the women and create a distinctive visual portrait? And what does Anna reveal about one of the scenes that caught Ken completely by surprise? Over the course of the film, the rising power of these stories is undeniable. There’s nothing “intangible” about that.

“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is released by Greenwich Entertainment.

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