The life of a sex worker and blogger is followed over the course of three years in Searching Eva. Eva Collé is an Italian-born sex worker living in Berlin, who shares the experiences of her life on her blog. Eva’s constantly changing life is followed over the course of three years, following her through Berlin, Italy, Mexico and Greece, as we see her interactions with lovers, family, and more, as she contemplates her identity as a 25 year old woman.
Directed by Pia Hellenthal, Searching Eva is a film that can be described as a cross between observational documentary and performance art, the latter coming from obviously constructed moments of Eva Collé posing for the camera. The film is framed by various online comment to Eva, who is so open about her life, that at one point in the film she narrates her contact information. The film shows different sides of Eva Collé, as the film features everything from scenes showing her life as a sex worker to her having dinner with her family.
With many scenes of a highly sexual nature and even some instances of drug use, Searching Eva is probably not a documentary for everyone. However, the film is still a very intimate look at a woman who’s described in the on-screen internet comments as a “post modern Joan of Arc,” whose life is “cool and interesting like an indie movie.” Altogether, Searching Eva is a pretty compelling character study.