Eight-year-old Erik's mother takes him to the sauna for the first time in his life. There, he has to disrobe and sees lots of naked men and women around him. He feels very uncomfortable at first but then he seems to enjoy it.
Acting
Sem Roeters' tiny face says everything without speaking.
Direction
Ebbinge and Van Rees let silence do the heavy lifting.
Director
Albert Jan van Rees
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dutch sauna culture is famously nudist and gender-mixed; the film's tension comes from Erik's outsider perspective on a normalized national ritual.
Directors Ebbinge and Van Rees often collaborate on shorts about social awkwardness; this premiered at Netherlands Film Festival 2006 to mixed reactions about child nudity in art.
NL
