09/02/2026 | Writer: Metin Akdemir
We spoke with Mathias Broe, the director of Sauna, which was screened at the 14th Pembe Hayat KuirFest, about the film’s creative process, queer desire, and transformation.
I watched Sauna this year at Ankara KuirFest, and when the film ended, I walked out of the cinema in tears. Not only because I had just seen a powerful queer love story, but because it touched a place that felt deeply familiar to my own life. I had recently been in a relationship with a trans man, and the dynamic between Johan and William resonated with me in an intensely personal way.
While Sauna stands as a highly political work in terms of trans representation, it is also an intimate, fragile, and almost autobiographical love story. For this reason, I spoke with the film’s director, Mathias Broe, about the creative process behind the film, as well as queer desire, belonging, and transformation.
Your film has been described as one of the first Danish features with a trans lead. How did this responsibility shape your creative choices, especially in scenes where identity, desire, and vulnerability intersect?
Yes, it's the first Danish feature film with a trans lead. We felt a great responsibility in making sure that the film represented the trans experience in a way that would be relatable for trans people. We did a lot of research, including people working with trans representation in film and people from our community in the development of the story. We didn't live the trans experience ourselves, so it was necessary to team up with people that had a personal relation with transitioning. Casting Nina Rask as William was also a great way to get even more personal with the character and the material. Nina is trans and was very close to the character. I think it was actually a bigger challenge for her to make sure that she didn't act like herself, since it was so close to her own life.
In Sauna, queer spaces are shown as both safe and exclusionary. What does this duality mean to you, and what does it reveal about power and hierarchy within queer communities?
If you're not a part of the queer community, you wouldn't really see and understand how much exclusion there is within the community. It's sad that we tend to box each other so intensely. There's a category for every type of person - which is fun sometimes - but also very limiting. I think it's important to have separatist spaces, but I also think the power of queerness is to be open for diversity. If beauty and specific standards have to be met to be accepted within a space, I think we lose in the long run and honestly I think it shows that we just continue the hurt most queer people have experienced while growing up.
Your partner’s transition happened during the development of the film. Did that personal experience transform the emotional core of the story, and how is that reflected in Johan and William’s relationship?
It certainly did. When my partner announced her transition, I was in full proces developing the film, and our joys, challenges and story line got more aligned with Johan and Williams story. It didn't necessarily change the film, but it made me understand the characters better. What was at stake. I've had my own experience with feeling left out from my partner's group of trans friends and my partner has had her own experience with suddenly not feeling welcome in a cisgay space, so suddenly we stood in similar situations like the characters in the film. Also making the film did help me transition myself. To be able to speak about the subject matter through art was just so helpful in accepting that my partner was changing.
“I really wanted to see queer bodies on the big screen”
In my own work, I made a film that includes intimate scenes, and I found it challenging to edit and shape sexuality in a respectful and honest way. How did you approach directing and filming the intimate moments in Sauna, both emotionally and technically?
From the start we knew that intimacy was going to be a big part of the film. I really wanted to see queer bodies on the big screen and I didn't want to be afraid and censor it. First and foremost we had a very talented intimacy coordinator on set named Anne Sofie Steen Sverdrup. She used to do porn and she really knows how to work with people in this kind of setting. To me, intimacy scenes are not just for the fun of it. They are psychological and narrative scenes that tell us something new about the character and their development. I think it's super important to understand what the sex represents and shows in the specific scene. In the first scene where Johan gives William a blowjob, it's the first time they have sex, but it's also there to show the submissiveness and pleasing part of Johan, which will later be a challenge in their relationship.
As a queer filmmaker from Turkey, I come from a context where queer and trans people face increasing censorship, violence, and invisibility. Is there anything you would like to say in solidarity with queer and trans communities in Turkey and in similar contexts?
I think you're all extremely brave! Keep making your art and stand strong. Fear eats the soul. I think it's important to remember how powerful we are together. If you have capacity and your life is not at risk, please live your life to the fullest and fight for queer rights. You have a voice and we need it! I know I'm extremely privileged living in Copenhagen, so I really hope this kind of hope doesn't land in the wrong way. It's hard to understand the reality of peers living in societies where it's dangerous to be openly queer. But I hope that you don't have to compromise yourself. <3
Tags: media, arts and culture, life, lgbti
