Sauna Day

Anna Hints & Tushar Prakash / 2024

The film invites you into the world of Southern Estonian men who go to the dark-intimate space of a smoke sauna after a hard day's work. Beneath their tough exteriors lies a desire for connection, veiled in secrecy.

Short film / 14min

Directors: Anna Hints & Tushar Prakash

Screenwriter: Anna Hints & Tushar Prakash
Cinematographer:  Ants Tammik
Production & costume designer:  Inga Vares
Make-up designer: Piret Sootla
Editor:  Emeri Abel
Sound designer: Tanel Kadalipp

Cast: Rasmus Kaljujärv, Agur Seim
Supporting cast: Karep Rutov, Olev Pant, Priit Bulin, Tarmo Lõiv, Kaja Solom, Liina Prii, Marianne Kütt, Marin Mägi-Efert

Producer: Johanna Maria Tamm, Evelin Penttilä
Co-production: Allfilm
Produced by: Stellar Film
Sales agent:
Salaud Morriset

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

Cannes Critics’ Week special programme & Queer Palm nomination May 2024 (Cannes, France) 

AWARDS:

Baltic Pitching Forum
Participants rights at Talents and Short Film Market "You Only Pitch Twice" program (2022)

International Short Film Festival BRNO16
Best International Short film (2024)

Northern Lights Film Festival
Winner of Shortcut Short Film Competition (2024)

International Short Film Festival BRNO16 (Brno, Czech Republic)
Grand Prize (2024)

Riga International Film Festival 2ANNAS (Riga, Latvia)
Best Fiction Short Award (2025)

Mecal – International Short Film Festival of Barcelona (Spain)
Third Prize - Honorable Mention (2025)

BuSho Film Festival (Hungary)
Best Cinematography Special Mention Award (2025)

PARTICIPATION:

- Talents and Short Film Market (Turin, Italy) 2022
-  La Cinémathèque de Corse (Critics’ Week Rerun, France) 2024
- Riga International Film Festival RIGA IFF (Riga, Latvia) 2024
- PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn, Estonia) 2024
- Leeds International Film Festival (Leeds, UK) 2024
- Festival du Film de Fesses (France) 2024
- Tartuff (Tartu, Estonia) 2024
- Baltic Film Days (Estonia) 2024
- Tramway Film Festival (Warsaw, Poland) 2024
- Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Kyiv, Ukraine) 2024
- Finále Plzeň (Pilsen, Czech Republic) 2024
- TIFF (Toronto, Canada) 2024
- Queer Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal) 2024
- Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy (Helsinki, Finland) 2024
- 7th BEAST Festival (Porto, Portugal) 2024
- Reykjavík International Film Festival (Reykjavík, Iceland) 2024
- Nordic‑Baltic Film Festival (Ottawa, Canada) 2024
- TiSFF – Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival (Thessaloniki, Greece) 2024
- CinEast (Luxembourg) 2024
- Národní filmový archiv (Critics’ Week Rerun, Czech Republic) 2024
- Les Enfants terribles (“Courts de cœur 2” programme, France) 2024
- 43rd Vancouver International Film Festival (Vancouver, Canada) 2024
- Hof IFF (Hof, Germany) 2024
- Uppsala Short Film Festival (Uppsala, Sweden) 2024
- Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) 2024
- Denver Film Festival (Denver, USA) 2024
- Northern Lights Film Festival (Belarus) 2024
- L’Alternativa–Barcelona Independent Film Festival (Official Competition, Spain) 2024
- Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Winterthur, Switzerland) 2024
- Cortos en Grande Short Film Festival (Chile) 2024
- interfilm, 40th International Short Film Festival Berlin (Berlin, Germany) 2024
- St. Louis International Film Festival (Missouri, USA) 2024
- PÖFF SHORTS National Programme (Tallinn, Estonia) 2024
- Spicy Indie International Film Festival (Greece) 2024
- Chéries‑Chéris (France) 2024
- Queer Film Festival München (Munich, Germany) 2024
- Lago Film Fest (Lago, Italy) 2025
- Tampere Contemporary Dance Festival (Tampere, Finland) 2025
- Smita Patil International Short Film Festival (India) 2025
- London Short Film Festival (London, UK) 2025
- Clermont‑Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Clermont-Ferrand, France) 2025
- Baltic Film Days Paris (Paris, France) 2025
- Bright Nights: Baltic‑Nordic Short Films (Halifax, Canada) 2025
- Odeon Brugg (Switzerland) 2025
- Tampere Film Festival (Tampere, Finland) 2025
- Festival C.L.A.C (France) 2025
- Kino Pavasaris – Vilnius International Film Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania) 2025
- Fargo Film Festival (Fargo, USA) 2025
- Kinoforum Kinohafen (Germany) 2025
- Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival – FICCI (Colombia) 2025
- Sprouts Film Festival (Netherlands) 2025
- Hallucinations Collectives (France) 2025
- Brussels Short Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium) 2025
- River Film Festival (Italy) 2025 
- Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival (Greece) 2025 
- Chicago Southland International Film Festival (USA) 2025 
- Pink Apple Film Festival (Switzerland) 2025
- Vienna Shorts (Austria) 2025
- Brooklyn Film Festival (USA) 2025
- Arizona Short Film Festival (USA) 2025
- Norwegian Short Film Festival (Norway) 2025
- XII Finno-Ugric Film Festival (Estonia) 2025
- FIRE!! Barcelona LGBTI Film Festival (Spain) 2025
- Transilvania International Film Festival (Romania) 2025
- Contis Film Festival (France) 2025
- Palm Springs International ShortFest (USA) 2025
- Rio LGBTQIA+ (Brazil) 2025
- In The Palace International Short Film Festival (Bulgaria) 2025
- Abbas Kiarostami International Short Film Festival (Iran) 2025
- FEST – New Directors / New Films Festival (Espinho, Portugal) 2025
- Folkemødet (Allinge, Denmark) 2025
- Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland) 2025
- Manse Pride (Tampere, Finland) 2025
- Figari International Short Film Fest (Italy) 2025
- Odense International Film Festival (Denmark) 2025
- Festival Cabaret Vert (Charleville-Mézières, France)
- HollyShorts Film Festival (LA, USA)
- shnit worldwide shortsfestival (Costa Rica, Argentina & Hong Kong) 
- FILMETS Badalona Film Festival 2025 (Catalonia) 
- Tirana International Film Festival 2025 (Albania)
- Orvieto Cinema Fest (Italy) 
- Raíces - Festival Internacional de Cine de Chivilcoy (Argentina) 
- European Short Film Festival of Nice - Un Festival C’est Trop Court (France) 
- Taiwan International Queer Film Festival

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