Anna and Yo are unlikely friends with an unbreakable bond. When the pair first met, Yo was 73 and Anna 24. Through archival footage, interviews, puppets and insects, filmmaker and entomologist Anna Fitch with husband Banker White, create a joyous and artful celebration of friendship.

Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)
Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)
Director
Runtime
78 Minutes
Country
United States
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Anna and Yo are unlikely friends with an unbreakable bond. When the pair first met, Yo was 73 and Anna 24. 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, and inside lives a puppet of her friend Yo. Through archival footage, interviews, puppetry and insects, filmmaker and entomologist Anna Fitch, with husband Banker White, portray an unconventional life. Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo (Yolanda) was an unusual and curious child whose frustrated parents sent her to art school. Immigrating to Australia then America, she finds freedom, family and a life full of experimentation. This joyous and artful homage to friendship asks how we keep memory alive after those closest to us have died. Winner of the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at Berlin.
“For its creators, the film goes from a work about living to a reflection of mourning, and eventually, a way of keeping someone alive through memory.”
Variety
“Joyful, creative documentary portrait of grief, love and friendship.”
Screen Daily
Berlin - Silver Bear Outstanding Artistic Contribution
San Francisco
Revelation Perth

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Film Credits
Director
Anna Fitch & Banker White
Year
2026
Country
United States
Language
English
Type
Feature Documentary
Program Strand
World Documentary
Producer
Anna Fitch, Banker White, Sara Dosa & Hannah Roodman
Cinematographer
Banker White & Andy Mitchell
Editor
Banker White
Music
Tyler Strickland
Film Source
First Hand Films
Genre
Art, Biographical, Documentary & Women
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