When Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on this day three years ago, filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko (“Home Games,” “We Will Not Fade Away”) bid farewell to her partner and four-year-old son and joined the Ukrainian Volunteer Army.
As she traded her camera for a rifle, she couldn’t leave behind her instinct to document. What emerged is “My Dear Theo,” a poignant video diary for her son, set to premiere in the main competition at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Festival (CPH:DOX) in March.
Kovalenko filmed her fellow soldiers during moments of camaraderie and reprieve, including conversations with their children, offering an intimate and rarely seen portrait from the frontline. As time passed, she also filmed her own calls with her son, who had taken refuge in France with his father.
“I still believe that documentary cinema is a key to the heart,” she tells Variety in an exclusive interview. “You can feel connected and you can feel empathy. And I wanted to show this other side of the frontline, the human faces, the love and the tenderness. Many people still think these are abstract soldiers fighting, but it’s all of us fighting. We are all soldiers.”
Courtesy of Haka Films
After four months in service, she faced a critical decision: enlist permanently or return home. She chose to finish editing “We Will Not Fade Away,” a film about Ukrainian teenagers in the war-torn Donbas, which went on to win multiple festival awards.
Kovalenko’s commitment to telling Ukraine’s story stems from personal experience. A seasoned documentarian, she has chronicled Ukraine’s struggles since the 2014 Maidan protests and the annexation of Crimea.
While filming in the Donbas region, she was detained at a Russian checkpoint and endured conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) at the hands of a Russian officer. “He let me go with the words, ‘Be thankful you’re still alive,’” she recalls.
Today, she is a member of SEMA Ukraine, part of a global network supporting survivors of wartime sexual violence, backed by Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege.
As “My Dear Theo” prepares for its world premiere, Kovalenko is focused on finishing her next project, “Traces,” co-directed with Marysia Nikitchuk. The film investigates the silent epidemic of CRSV in Ukraine, a subject long shrouded in stigma. “Since 2014, many cases have gone unspoken,” she says. “I want to finish this project to help women who survived.”
Courtesy of Haka Films
Looking ahead, she is uncertain about the future: “I don’t know what will happen with all these political games of ‘Trump the peacemaker,’ it’s hard to predict anything. But if the frontline is not frozen in the coming months of 2025, I will return to the army.”
Her broader concern, however, extends beyond Ukraine. “[French president Emmanuel] Macron recently said that Trump is like an electric shock for Europe, but the sad thing is I’m not sure Europe is ready to wake up.
“And if it doesn’t happen, if we don’t feel this common solidarity, if we don’t feel that we are fighting for the survival of the values of a civilized, democratic world, that we are fighting against total evil, we will all lose, not just Ukraine.”
A Haka Films production, “My Dear Theo” is co-produced by Moon Man and Ji.hlava & JB Films, with executive production by Monica Hellström, and additional support from the Polish Film Institute, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Meadow Fund. Kirsten Johnson provided mentorship thanks to the Chicken & Egg Award.
Stranger Films Sales is handling international sales.
CPH:DOX runs in Copenhagen from March 19 through 30.
