A Ukrainian Mother and Doc Maker Writes to Her Son From the Frontline in ‘My Dear Théo’ (Trailer)

Ukrainian documentary maker Alisa Kovalenko (Alisa in Warland, Home Games, We Will Not Fade Away) is a mother, filmmaker, and soldier. When Russia invaded Ukraine in the spring of 2022, she enlisted to defend her country, leaving her husband, French author and producer Stéphane Siohan, and 5-year-old son behind. Her film My Dear Théo, world premiering on March 23 at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, is structured as a series of letters sent to her young son Théo from the frontline.

The letters revolve around topics such as war, love, and the most difficult choices in life. A logline describes the film as “a testament to the power of love in times of war – balancing frontline routines, the horrors of the battlefield, and tender, poetic letters” to her little son.

“Through Alisa’s camera, we experience the harsh reality of the Ukrainian frontline, from the quiet moments of reflection and camaraderie, to the sudden chaos when the Russians attack,” notes the website of the Copenhagen festival. “But most of a soldier’s time is spent waiting, and this is the time when the inner turmoil is greater than the ferocity of the battlefield.”

The first trailer for the film, which THR can exclusively reveal, shows Théo, but also Kovalenko and her fellow soldiers on the frontlines, giving a first sense for the emotional journey the doc will take viewers on.

“You spend hours, days, and nights in that trench, and you begin to notice the small things—the leaves, the trees, and the minute details that might seem trivial but are all part of the lived experience,” Kovalenko says. “There is also a deeper, existential element that the camera can’t quite capture. For
me, it was even more important to express what I was feeling in writing. That’s why, in the end, I believe the letters hold far more emotional weight than the footage itself.”

The filmmaker also says that “one moment in particular hit me hard,” sharing: “In the film, there is a scene where I speak about parents going to the front line so that our children wouldn’t have to. Théo then turned to me and said, ‘Mama, I don’t want you to go back to the frontline. I’ll go instead’.”

Produced by Haka Films, the doc is being sold by Stranger Films Sales. Watch the exclusive trailer for My Dear Théo below.