The Cinema Femme Shorts Film Festival highlights captivating films in independent cinema. The festival provides a mixture of short films, feature films, and workshops. It offers its audience the chance to feel cinematic moments that feel incredibly real. Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is a film that made me ask myself why there are more realistic movies like this. Writer and director Anna Hints takes her audience on an audacious journey into the unknown in the mountains of Estonia.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood has a faded form of cinematography that blends well with the winter setting throughout the film. The title is catchy and may leave some to assume that the film is horror themed. The lighting and darkness also make the film feel like it could belong in that genre. However, it is a documentary in which reality and candid discussions occur in a place with no boundaries. As the title indicates, the women are socializing in a sauna. Their deep conversations dive into aspects of life that are mesmerizing thanks to a brilliant director who helps reveals the truth.

The ladies in the film are all real people and play themselves. Their names are Kadil Kivilo, Maria Meresaar, Elsa Saks, Marianne Liiv, and others. They are European women who find their sacred place of peace and meaning in their sauna. In that sauna, all kinds of topics come up ranging from ageism to disconnect to hardship to loneliness. The sauna is their own personal club where they all feel heard with heart.

There are lots of deep emotions and spellbinding factors in the stories that weave together in powerful ways. There is a quote that describes the film’s theme by saying.  “Smoke Sauna is a sacred place where you can cleanse yourself.” There is lots of cleansing in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood. My mind felt “cleansed” after the touching experience I had with this movie. It truly made me think about reality in a new light. Viewers like me may often feel that we cannot share our inner most  thoughts, struggles or challenges with others when in fact, we can. The women in the film have bonds as close as sisters. They all find themselves inspired…in the light and the dark. This documentary is a moving and poetic adventure where self-acceptance is the enduring message.

Women coming out of their shells is the tactic used to create this film’s cinematic beauty. Truth and openness are featured and celebrated in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood. The secluded natural setting is one of divine beauty where the essence of solitude reigns. Deeper stories lead to more topics with no filter. The writing keeps supporting the vibe of connectedness. Their loving environment creates a blissful feeling that is soothing. The bond between the ladies is loyal and loving and the odyssey of thoughts they share makes the audience feel present. Connectivity, sexuality, and personal boundaries are all exploredin Smoke Sauna Sisterhood. Four stars for this glorious, one-of-a-kind film.