YO (Love Is A Rebellious Bird): A Unique Friendship Shines in the Berlinale Competition
Documentary Explores Unlikely Friendship Between Anna Fitch and Yolanda Shea
In a poignant testament to the power of friendship, Anna Fitch’s upcoming documentary, YO (Love Is a Rebellious Bird), chronicles the deep bond she shared with Yolanda Shea, who was nearly 50 years her senior. Despite the age gap, their connection thrived, leaving an enduring legacy even after Shea’s passing.
Driven by her desire to honor this relationship, Fitch dedicated years to creating a one-third scale replica of Shea’s home, a process captured in the documentary that she co-directed with Banker White. The film will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, where it is notable for being the only documentary in official competition.
A brief trailer for the film has been released, offering an initial glimpse into Fitch’s heartfelt project.
According to the film’s synopsis, Fitch "spends a decade obsessively building a detailed 1/3-scale version of her friend’s house after losing her." This dollhouse-sized replica is just large enough for her to enter, where a puppet of Shea resides. The two women first met when Shea was 73 and Fitch was just 24. Over the nearly two decades of their friendship, they forged a profound connection that transcended their age difference. Following Shea’s death, Fitch reconstructs a magical space that embodies Shea’s stories and their unique relationship.
The film contrasts intimate footage of Shea’s last year with Fitch’s creative representations of her friend’s rich life narratives. Shea, born in Switzerland in 1924, led a life that defied societal norms surrounding sexuality, motherhood, aging, and death. As the film intertwines memory, time, and imagination, it illustrates how artistic expression can channel grief and love.
Fitch reflects on their intergenerational friendship, describing it as “a love-at-first-sight kind of friendship.” She adds, “Yo was many things to many people: a great-grandmother, career weed dealer, intellectual thought partner, psychic, hostess, and – at times – a tyrant. To me, she was an inspiration, a seer of truth. I wasn’t ready to lose her.”
She further recounts that filming began a year before Shea’s death, but she struggled to engage with the footage afterward. “I wanted to spend time with the material things she’d left me – her old sweater, perfume, fabrics, or photographs,” she said. This led her to create tangible objects, culminating in the construction of the detailed replica of Shea’s home. Throughout the film, Fitch utilizes miniature sets, puppetry, and paper dioramas to bring to life the stories Shea shared about her past, inviting viewers into a narrative rich with emotion and memory.
The documentary will premiere on February 20 at 3:30 PM CET at the Berlinale Palace. Competing for the festival’s prestigious Golden Bear, YO (Love is a Rebellious Bird) is also nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Award. Produced by San Francisco-based Mirabel Pictures, the film features contributions from Oscar nominee Sara Dosa, along with Fitch and White, with international sales managed by First Hand Films.
