YO (LOVE IS A REBELLIOUS BIRD)

World Premiere: Berlinale 2026 / Competition

Anna spends a decade obsessively building a detailed 1/3-scale version of her friend's house after losing her. It's just big enough for Anna to squeeze through the door. Inside lives a puppet of her friend Yo. When the pair met, Yo was 73 and Anna just 24, but over almost two decades of friendship, they form a deep bond that defies the gap in their ages and experiences. After Yo's death, Anna re-constructs a magical space where Yo's home, stories, and their relationship continue. The film juxtaposes intimate vérité of Yo's last year with Anna's creative interpretations of Yo's dramatic life stories. Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo lived life on her own terms, defying expectations around sexuality, mothering, aging, and even death. As the film blurs memory, time and invention, it also reveals the power of artistic creation to channel – and share – grief and love.

A FILM BY Anna Fitch & Banker White | USA | 2026 | 78’ | Sales: First Hand Films

Documentary