Alisa Kovalenko

Alisa Kovalenko was born in Zaporizhia, Ukraine in 1987. == Career ==

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. It was co-directed by Liubov Durakova. 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. In 2023, the final film We Will Not Fade Away premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. Kovalenko said that the experience made her feel "powerless as a documentary filmmaker." Her latest film Traces is co-directed by Marysia Nikitchuk and focuses on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The film premiered at the Berlin Filmfestival of 2026 and was nominated for best documentary feature. == Activism ==

Kovalenko is a member of SEMA Ukraine, which advocates for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. During the war in Donbas, Kovalenko was sexually assaulted by Russian-backed forces. 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. == Accolades ==

Since 2019 Kovalenko has been a member of the European Film Academy. == Personal life ==

She is married to producer Stéphane Siohan and together they have one son. == Filmography ==

• Sestra Zo (2014) • Alisa in Warland (2015) co-directed with Liubov Durakova • Home Match (2017, Short) • Home Games (2018) • Girl Away from Home (2023, Short) • We Will Not Fade Away (2023) • My Dear Theo (2025) • Traces (2026) == References ==