“A brilliant, engaging portrait of one of the most singular artists to emerge from the Balkans.”

“Would you rather be in heaven with Donald Trump or hell with Jesus Christ?”

At a glance, this seems like nothing more than an outrageous hypothetical question designed to plunge the person being asked into a state of thought as they try to make sense of this peculiar choice, and one that many may view as impossible. This question is the cornerstone of the work that Ivo Dimchev has been doing for the past few years, as he travels the world and interacts with a wide range of people, asking them the same question and drawing fascinating conclusions from their responses. It’s very fitting that the documentary that covers quite a few of these years bears a similar title, with In Hell with Ivo being a brilliant, engaging portrait of one of the most singular artists to emerge from the Balkans. An entertainer and social critic who is steadily rising on the global stage, his distinct style of performance and unique perspective on everything from politics to sexuality informs every moment of this thrilling documentary. Director Kristina Nikolova steps into Ivo’s life by following him around as he brings his performances to audiences across different continents, as well as capturing the more intimate moments that help clarify many of the ambiguous qualities on which Ivo has constructed his public persona. A wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking journey into the mind and soul of a true eccentric.

Who is Ivo? This is both a question that some viewers who are not familiar with his work will ask, as well as the central thesis statement of this film, and the point from which the director builds what she intends to be a sweeping analysis of this fascinating individual. Ivo allows her into his daily life, affording the director unfettered access into his routine. He gives her the chance to capture many different sides of Ivo, whose refusal to fit into a particular category has been the reason he has attained such a fascinating reputation, and allowed audiences across the world to steadily become acquainted with his deliriously demented worldview. As a character, Ivo is a complicated individual: on stage, he may be the embodiment of peculiarity who openly talks about any topic he fancies and seems to be driven by a genuine affection for chaos, while his moments spent outside the spotlight are defined by a desire for acceptance, something that he won’t readily admit but which the director makes clear through their conversations. The anchor is this dichotomy between Ivo’s different personas, being wickedly entertaining and outrageously funny in some parts, but also deeply melancholic when we are given the chance to peer behind the curtain and view the protagonist as more than just the peculiar young man with a penchant for both entertaining and unsettling anyone who is willing to give him a moment of their time.

Nikolova makes it clear very early in the film that she isn’t interested in the typical biographical documentary that we usually find with films about musicians. This is neither forged in the cradle-to-grave style (where the rise of a particular artist is charted from beginning to end) nor an overly didactic, academic account of his artistry. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing film whose tone and style are as fluid and impossible to define as its protagonist. As a result, the film is able to offer valuable insights into his creative process, showing the sources of his inspiration, which come from many different places, indicating the rich tapestry of influences that go into his works. While he does use contemporary issues such as COVID-19 or certain political leaders to create timely, resonant pieces of entertainment, there are some ideas that inform his work that are much more universal and timeless, such as the perpetual search for identity and acceptance. The moments where the director pushes forward in an attempt to understand Ivo not only as an artist, but as an individual with his own complex perspective, are some of the most striking. His discussions about his family and youth, as well as the role they played in forming his identity, are integral to the construction of this film, both in terms of the conversations that Nikolova sets out to capture and in the constantly shifting tone that makes this a much more layered production than we would anticipate at the outset. 

In Hell with Ivo is a film built on contradictions, much like the subject himself – playful but sombre, complex but easily understood and naturally very difficult to define by traditional terms. Nikolova tells his story with candour and humour, making sure that we are entirely aware of the elements that drew her to explore Ivo’s life. His willingness to bare his soul and speak from the heart (something very difficult for him to do when performing, as he has cultivated a specific character, but one that is clearly an intentionally heightened version of himself) allows Ivo to become one of the year’s most compelling protagonists, an unapologetically unique individual who lives on his own terms, regardless of the consequences. Through finding the perfect balance between the poignant and the profane, In Hell with Ivo manages to peer behind the curtain of a truly outrageous individual who uses performance as his weapon against what he views as a hostile, confusing world. Not afraid to portray Ivo as someone prone to bouts of prickliness, nor hesitant in highlighting the fact that he is as flawed as anyone else, the film becomes a deeply human portrait of a one-of-a-kind individual whose artistry is outwardly celebrated and whose own journey of self-discovery forms the foundation for this stunning, politically charged, socially conscious piece of non-fiction filmmaking.