This Sunday, directors Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash presented their new short feature film "Sauna Day" ("Sannapäiv" in Võro language) to a full house at Cannes.

Anna Hints was enchanted by her first Cannes experience. "It was really heartwarming to hear Võro (language) on the big screen for the first time in the history of the Cannes Film Festival," Hints said.

"We were very much looking forward to seeing how the movie would be received by international audiences, as the focus is on everything that is not being talked about. The movie is also short, like a poem. It was a pleasure to feel that our movie has reached that audience, and we got a particularly warm feeling thanks to the Estonian community who had come to support us," she said.

Tushar Prakash that premiering the movie as part of Critics' Week program has created more interest about Estonia among those in attendance. "Indian film journalists have pointed out that since one of the directors of 'Sauna Day' is of Indian origin, India is being represented in the Critics' Week program through an Estonian film," Prakash said.

"This has created an interest in Estonia, its cinema and its history among the Indian delegation. I am really happy to have the opportunity to feel proud of both my cultures: the one I was born into and the one I find myself in today. This is what Cannes is all about, how cinema and stories cross cultural and national boundaries, build bridges and how our local Estonian stories can resonate at the highest level in the world."

"Sauna Day" has also been selected to compete for this year's Queer Palm Award, which is handed out annually to the best short movie and feature film dealing with LGBT+, feminist characters and topics or challenging gender norms.

"Sauna Day" is the first Estonian movie to have been selected for the Critics' Week Special Program at Cannes.

Cannes Critics' Week runs from May 15-23 this year, with a parallel program to the main Cannes International Film Festival. The aim of Critics' Week is to discover and support new movie-making talent from around the world

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