The Grand Illusion

Women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences inside an Estonian smoke sauna. Cleansing their bodies and baring their souls, they embrace the healing power of sisterhood, regaining their strength through a sense of communion.

Named as one of the top seven documentaries of 2023 by the Producers Guild of America; winner of the Directing Award for World Cinema: Documentary at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Part of our Documentaries of Distinction film series.

In Estonian with English subtitles.

“One of the ten best movies of 2023. Visually striking and uncommonly frank, it gets at an authenticity that few fiction films can fully capture.” Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

“This is a film that weaves a spell, the camera resting often not on the woman talking but on the person listening to her, thereby creating the impression of a universal experience of women.” Cath Clarke, The Guardian