Screenings

Synopsis

February 2022. Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko resolves to fulfill a promise she made to herself: to volunteer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces if the Russian invasion of her country escalates to full scale. Leaving behind her 5-year-old son, Théo, she goes to fight on the frontline. This film, which was never meant to exist, was born from the effort to preserve—amidst the horrors and dangers of war—evidence of a mother’s unwavering love for her child.

Through intimate video diaries and poetic letters addressed to a future, grown-up Théo, Alisa captures the devastating reality of war while reflecting on her choice to serve. Her camera reveals both the chaos of destruction and the profound humanity she finds among her fellow soldiers—their unbreakable friendships, mutual support, and tender connections with distant loved ones. Serving both as a mother’s testament of love and a war documentary, the film interweaves Kovalenko’s personal journey with the larger narrative of those fighting to ensure future generations may live in peace.


This first-person documentary offers an intense, intimate perspective on the human cost of war and the profound bonds between parent and child that endure even in the darkest times. Through her lens, Alisa Kovalenko honors both the living who serve and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, never to return to their families.MY DEAR THÉO will have its German premiere in Nuremberg.

Director

Alisa Kovalenko

Biography

Alisa Kovalenko is a Ukrainian director, born in Zaporizhia, living in Kyiv. She graduated the Karpenko-Kary University of Cinema of Kyiv and the Andrzej-Wajda cinema school of Warsaw.
Her first feature-documentary ALISA IN WARLAND premiered at IDFA Amsterdam in 2015 in the First appearance competition. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she joined a volunteer combat unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), which was deployed directly to the front line. She fought for four months before returning to complete WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY, which celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale 2023 and won the Award of the Open Eyes Youth Jury at NIHRFF 2023.
Alisa is a member of SEMA Ukraine, an initiative that supports survivors of sexual violence in the context of war.

Filmography

Video-poetry of Maidan (2014), Sister Zo (2014), Alisa in Warland (2015), Home Games (2018, NIHRFF 2019), We Will Not Fade Away (2023, NIHRFF 2023), My Dear Théo (2025)

Links /Contacts