What power lies in filmmaking?
And what was Eva Neidlinger's path from nursing to film?
Director Eva Neidlinger believes there is power in filmmaking - the power to make a difference. You can hear how she found her way from nursing into film, which also took her through Lviv, in the SOONERCAST interview with her. The Into The Wild mentee has had a good relationship with Ukraine for a long time. Through friendships from her youth, she has often traveled to the country and has been dealing with politics long before the total invasion in February 2022. Her documentary FORTUNA VALENTYN about the local politician Valentyn was completed shortly before the start of the large-scale war in 2022 - he believes in a democratic and corruption-free future for Ukraine and has therefore been involved in the city council of his Ukrainian hometown since the Maidan protests. When he needs a break, he tries to cross the Black Sea in a kayak he built himself. Today he is a soldier on the front line.
Eva thinks that there is far too little knowledge about Ukraine among the German public. Since the Russian invasion, most people associate the country exclusively with war. In the interview, she explains that Ukraine should not be simplified and talks about her collaboration with the strong Ukrainian civil society. While she has repeatedly taken a critical look at Eurocentrism in her career, feminism is also an important influence for her. This is one of the reasons why she is grateful for the INTO THE WILD mentoring program, in which she can grow together with other women from the industry and stand up for a fairer society. Her tool for this is film. You can now stream FORTUNA VALENTYN and Eva's recommendations as a SOONER curator on SOONER.
