Ivie, whom her friends call “Schoko” (“Chocolate”), lives in Leipzig. She works at a solarium run by her ex-boyfriend while she looks for steady employment as a teacher. One day, her half-sister from Berlin shows up at her door and tells her of the death of their father and his upcoming funeral in Senegal. Neither sister knew him, nor did they know each other, and thus they find it difficult to imagine getting to know his side of their family. As the sisters from two very different cities grow closer, Ivie starts to question not only her nickname, but also her culture and her self-image.

"Precious Ivie" addresses the difficult topic of racism with self-confidence and clever humor - and wonderful acting by Haley Louise Jones and Lorna Ishema.

This debut is an energetic highlight within the bigger tendency of german filmmaking finally opening up to diversity issues. Equally casual, free-wheeling and determined, the film has already won the Baltic Event Works in Progress Award in 2019 at the development stage and now returns to Tallinn for its international premiere.

Christoph Gröner