Anna Hints

Anna Hints is an Estonian film director with a background in the contemporary art scene and experimental music. Anna is deeply rooted in the distinct culture of South Estonia, yet for 5 years her second home has been India. She has studied literature, folklore and has a degree both in Photography and Film Directing. Her debut short fiction "Ice" (2017), which received the "Best Short Film" award at the Estonian Film and TV Awards, has been screened at more than 95 film festivals and won 14 awards worldwide.

"Smoke Sauna Sisterhood" is Anna's feature-length debut. The film received the prestigious Sundance Institute post production grant and has after premiere at Sundance Festival being awarded with numerous awards. A selection: Best Directing in International Documentary Competition, Sundance Film Festival; Best International Documentary, San Fransisco Film Festival; AUDENTIA Award: best female director; Best Film in Psychology and special mention, Millennium Docs Against Gravity; Special Mention, Guanajuato Film Festival; Best Baltic Film, Tallinn Black Nights Festival; and  - European Film Award for Best Documentary, which makes „Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” the first Estonian film production ever to reach such heights. „Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is officially selected to represent Estonia for the Academy Award in the category of Best International Feature and is a nominee for the 2024 LUX European Audience Film Award. “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” reached the cinemas on several continents, making Estonian film history once more.

Anna Hints is a singer in the electronic-folk trio "Eeter" that scored the feature documentary "Wind Sculpted Land" (nomination in the "Best Film Music" category at the Estonian Film and TV Awards 2018). In January 2021 her short documentary “For Tomorrow Paradise Arrives” premiered on the Estonian National Television and has since initiated public discussions and different projects all over Estonia against food waste.

Anna has been creatively collaborating with Indian filmmaker Tushar Prakash since 2019. “Kissing Your Tongue” experimental short is the couple's first creative collaboration that is also part of an expanded cinema project “Time Quartet” curated by Len Murusalu. Anna and Tushar have co-written two short fiction scripts: “Weight of Light” that won the Baltic Producers Media Award at Baltic Pitching Forum in 2021, and “Sauna Day”, currently in post-production.