After winning the Directing Award at Sundance 2023 and touring the world with my debut feature documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the question I heard most was: “Anna, what are you doing next?” It was the first thing asked even after winning the European Film Award for Best European Documentary.
I had just completed a film I devoted seven years of my life to, yet the industry was already hungry for more. The demand to repeat or exceed previous success can easily crush an artistic voice. It’s a struggle when no one believes in you — but it’s just as heavy when everyone suddenly expects everything from you. Both take a toll, on the mind and the body. The moment I start caring too much about what others think, I find myself in a creative prison, locked in by the pressure I’ve internalized.
When the glass ceiling breaks, it’s important not to get cut by the falling shards. Success carries the risk of inflating the ego — thinking you are the most important, the best, the most talented. But as an author, you can’t afford to think you are “ready.” Being an author is a schizophrenic journey: on one hand, you must believe in yourself; on the other, you must doubt yourself. It’s a constant tightrope walk and it is always uncomfortable. I believe innovation and discomfort go hand in hand.
To avoid falling into that trap of expectations and to make peace with the uncomfortable, I regularly take time off in nature, out of signal. There, my teachers are the trees. In order to grow high towards the sun, their roots must be grounded. The light of the spotlight is not the sun — it does not nourish the soul. Finding out what nourishes your roots, is the key to your creativity, innovation, and freedom of thought.
Anna Hints is a multi-awarded Estonian film director and scriptwriter with deep roots in the distinct culture of South East Estonia and a background in contemporary art, experimental folk music and environmental activism.
Anna’s short documentary For Tomorrow Paradise Arrives (2021) initiated public discussion and growth of new grass-root movements against food waste in Estonia.
Anna’s debut feature documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood won the Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Competition and brought to Estonia first ever European Film Award for Best European Documentary in 2023. It was sold to 33 territories worldwide and ran 66 weeks in a row in Estonian cinemas. The film has been to numerous festivals, has won more than 40 prestigious awards worldwide, including highest cultural awards in Estonia and has acclaimed numerous prestigious nominations.
Anna’s all short fictions – Ice, Sauna Day, Weight of Light – have all won many awards, premiered in A-list festivals and toured around the world.
Anna is a member of electronic-folk trio EETER that collaborated with Icelandic composer Eðvarð Egilsson in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.
Anna Hints and her creative partner Tushar Prakash established a Tartu based film production company KAE NOH.
