Ivo

“The film doesn’t tell—it shows! The director has created a clever, nuanced narrative and work of art in which screenplay, acting, camera, and editing are perfectly intermeshed.” With those words, the jury of the DEFA Foundation awarded Eva Trobisch the Heiner Carow Prize at this year’s Berlinale for the feature film IVO (D 2024), Trobisch’s second film after her 2018 debut Alles ist gut.The titular character, superbly acted by Minna Wündrich, is an outpatient nurse for palliative patients. Living and dying are part of each day. One of her patients is her best friend. Should she help her die? “Through precise observation of everyday work, a psychological study emerges of a woman who is—fortunately—neither heroine nor victim. The movie challenges its audience. Its strength lies in the unmediated quality of the storytelling, which feels directly lifted from life,” the jury continued in its statement. A powerful film experience. (Linda Söffker)