Alisa Kovalenko
Alisa Kovalenko | |
|---|---|
 Alisa Kovalenko | |
| Born | September 24, 1987 |
| Citizenship | Ukraine |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | We Will Not Fade Away |
| Children | 1 |
Alisa Kovalenko (born September 24, 1987) is a Ukrainian documentary filmmaker and soldier. Her films have focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine both during the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
She is known for films such as We Will Not Fade Away (2023) and Alisa in Warland (2015).
Early life and education
[edit]Alisa Kovalenko was born in Zaporizhia, Ukraine in 1987.[1] In Kyiv, she studied documentary filmmaking at the Karpenko-Karyi University and then went on to study at the Wajda Film School in Warsaw, Poland.[2][1]
Career
[edit]In 2014, while still a film student, she made her first film, Sestra Zo about a former soccer player. In 2015, her first feature-length documentary, Alisa in Warland, premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.[2] The footage came about when Kovalenko traveled to the front line of the war in Donbas during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.[3][4][5] It was co-directed by Liubov Durakova.[2]
In 2018, her second documentary, Home Games, which centered around a 20-year-old female soccer player from a poor family, premiered at IDFA.[6]
In 2019, Kovalenko's experiences in Donbas lead her to begin a documentary film about the lives of teenagers in the war torn area and an opportunity five of them had to travel to the Himalayas.[7][8] In 2023, the final film We Will Not Fade Away premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.[2][8]
Originally, We Will Not Fade Away was going to have a very different tone, but the Russian Invasion of Ukraine completely changed the project.[8] Following the Russian occupation, some of those in the film safely fled, but at the time of the release, two of the leads of the film were unaccounted for.[8][9] Kovalenko said that the experience made her feel "powerless as a documentary filmmaker."[8]
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted Kovalenko to join the Ukrainian Volunteer Army (before production of We Will Not Fade Away was complete).[5] Saying, "I promised myself if a war ... will cover all Ukraine, then I will fight not with my camera but with a gun."[1] After her tour, she finished editing We Will Not Fade Away and then turned new footage from the frontlines into the film My Dear Theo, a video diary for her young son, which premiered in the main competition at CPH:DOX in 2025.[5][10][11]
Her upcoming project Traces is co-directed by Marysia Nikitchuk and focused on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[5][12]
Activism
[edit]Kovalenko is a member of SEMA Ukraine, which advocates for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.[5] During the war in Donbas, Kovalenko was sexually assaulted by Russian-backed forces.[5][1] She has said that many cases go unspoken and wants to help other survivors with her work and by being open about her experience and the realities of the Russian invasion.[5][1]
Accolades
[edit]Since 2019 Kovalenko has been a member of the European Film Academy.[13]
Personal life
[edit]She is married to producer Stéphane Siohan and together they have one son.[9]
Filmography
[edit]Directed
- My Dear Theo (2025)
- Girl Away from Home (2023, Short)
- We Will Not Fade Away (2023)
- Home Games (2018)
- Home Match (2017, Short)
- Alisa in Warland (2015) co-directed with Liubov Durakova
- Sestra Zo (2014)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Filmmaker fights for Ukraine, driven by memories of sexual assault". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-02-18. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ a b c d "| Berlinale | Archive | Programme | We Will Not Fade Away". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "Alisa in Warland". www.film-documentaire.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ Klashorst, Marc van de (2025-03-23). "CPH:DOX 2025 review: My Dear Theo (Alisa Kovalenko)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pedersen, Lise (2025-02-24). "A Ukrainian Mother and Filmmaker Goes to War: Director Alisa Kovalenko Premieres 'My Dear Theo' at CPH:DOX (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "Home Games (2018) | IDFA Archive". IDFA. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ Le, Phuong (2025-02-25). "We Will Not Fade Away review – study of five Ukrainian teens' brief escape from war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ a b c d e Vourlias, Christopher (2023-02-20). "How Ukrainian Docmaker Alisa Kovalenko Lost and Found Her Faith in Film After Fighting on the Frontline". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ a b Balaga, Marta (2022-10-29). "'Russia Wants to Beat Us into Submission': Ukrainian Director-Turned-Soldier Alisa Kovalenko Unveils First-Look Footage of 'Frontline'". Variety. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ Dalton, Ben (2025-02-13). "CPH:DOX unveils competition titles including 56 world premieres". Screen. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "My Dear Théo". CPH:DOX. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (2023-11-08). "Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko readies pair of war themed documentaries (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "Alisa Kovalenko | DOKweb". DOK web - Institute of Documentary Film (IDF). Retrieved 2025-03-24.