Thu 27 March 2025

Q&A with director Alisa Kovalenko and producer Tijana Djukic

After the screening of My Dear Théo, an after talk with the director Alisa Kovalenko and the producer Tijana Djukic will take place. Alisa will be accompanied by her family and her son Théo.

Alisa Kovalenko is a mother and a filmmaker who also became a soldier in early 2022 after the full-scale Russian invasion of her country in 2022. For Kovalenko and her fellow Ukrainians, repelling the aggressor from the East and protecting their homeland became the sole raison d’être. And with that came terrible choices and enormous sacrifices. She gave up her career, but she also had to leave her 4-year-old son behind.

The conversation is moderated by journalist Michiel Driebergen, who specialises in Ukraine and Eastern Europe affairs.

Language: English

My Dear Théo

Alisa Kovalenko, 98 minutes
Grand Jury Documentary Dutch premiere Subtitles EN
A moving and personal documentary by filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko, who made a profound choice in 2022: while her partner and their four-year-old son left for France, she joined the Ukrainian army. During four months at the front, she wrote letters to her son Theo and recorded her experiences in a cinematic diary.  In My D...

Speakers

Michiel Ton

Servaz van Berkum

moderator

Alisa Kovalenko

director

Tijana Djukic

guest