Against the Tide : Three Documentary Screenings - André Chamson Media Library

As part of Documentary Film Month, three film screenings are being held as part of the series “Against the Current: Free Bodies, Shared Spaces”. An open and thought-provoking theme that invites audiences to question the world and take a different look at those who experience it in their own way.

> Thursday 5 November: SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD
Anna Hints – 2023, 89 min, Estonia, France, Iceland

In the intimacy of Estonia’s sacred saunas, the rituals of life intertwine as women share things they keep silent about elsewhere. Through the smoke rising from the hot stones, the female experience is revealed in all its truth and enduring strength.

Please note: the film addresses difficult subjects, including the testimony of a person who has experienced rape.

Best Director Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Documentary) and Best Documentary Award at the 2023 European Film Awards.

> Thursday 12 November: CASA SUSANNA
Sébastien Lifshitz – 2022, 97 min, France, United States

In the 1950s and 1960s, in the heart of the American countryside, a small wooden house and its barn provided a refuge for an underground network of people who challenged gender norms. Now in their eighties, Diane and Kate were part of this secret community. Through their stories, they bring to light a forgotten yet essential chapter in the early history of transgender identity.

Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Doc NYC festival and Best Documentary Award at the 2022 LesGaiCineMad festival.

> Thursday 19 November: AU BAIN DES DAMES
Margaux Fournier – 2025, 30 min, France
Followed by a surprise short film selected by AGEPT.

Every day, Joëlle joins her retired friends on Bain des Dames beach in Marseille. Like a theatre in the open air, they laugh, talk about love, sex and their changing bodies, and put the world to rights with the freedom of women who have nothing left to prove.

2026 César Award for Best Documentary Short Film.