“More Than a Film, a Tool for Change and Justice”: OMCT Interviews Ukrainian Activists at FIFDH
Alisa Kovalenko is a survivor, the first one to speak out about the sexual violence she endured during Russia’s invasion of the Ukrainian region of Donbas in 2014. Years later, she met Iryna Dovgan, founder of SEMA Ukraine, a network of Ukrainian women and survivors of conflict-related gender-based violence caused by Russia’s armed aggression. That’s when she, along with co-director Marysia Nikitiuk, decided to document Iryna Dovgan’s and many other women’s testimonials of violence and survival through a film. Traces was recently screened at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, in an event co-hosted by OMCT, a main partner of the festival. In this interview, Alisa Kovalenko and Iryna Dovgan talk about the process of creating this documentary, and how they intend to use it as a tool for memory, advocacy, and justice.
Alisa, what made you want to tell Iryna’s story? Why now?
Alisa Kovalenko: This journey started in 2014, when I was captured while documenting the beginning of the Russian aggression in Donbas. During my captivity, I survived sexual violence. After my release, I remained silent for almost two years. When I finally shared my testimony, I realised how widespread this silence was. Many women had similar experiences, but I was the first one speaking publicly.
Through a community of survivors, I met Iryna and other women. From the beginning, we felt the importance of preserving memory. A documentary film was always in our minds as a possible tool, but I was afraid to start. I knew it could bring me back into my trauma.
Everything changed after the full-scale invasion in 2022. The scale of violence became impossible to ignore. We felt there was no time to wait, we had to act, to amplify survivors’ voices, to show that sexual violence is being used systematically as a weapon of war. This film became a collective decision. For me, it became more than a film, it’s a tool for change and justice.
Iryna, why did you want to be part of it?
Iryna Dovgan: At first, I didn’t even know what the film would become. But for me, it was essential to preserve memory. Many women suffer long-term consequences, and some have even died. These stories cannot disappear. If someone had told me a few years ago that this film would travel across Europe and be shown to large audiences, I wouldn’t have believed it.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
Alisa Kovalenko: We want people to feel empathy, but not pity. At the premiere, we saw people crying, but it wasn’t about feeling sorry for us. It was about dignity. That’s what matters.
We want audiences to understand that this is not only about suffering, it’s also about strength. Survivors are not just victims, they have transformed their pain into power. This film is a call for action, for solidarity in this fight for justice.
Did making the film change how you see your own story?
Alisa Kovalenko: For me, the process was extremely difficult. Listening again and again to testimonies of violence brought me back into my own trauma. There was a moment when it felt unbearable. But over time, I also witnessed the resilience of other survivors, their recovery, their strength. That helped me find hope again. I realised that my pain had a purpose.
Did the film evolve differently from what you initially expected?
Alisa Kovalenko: Completely. At the beginning, I only wanted to document evidence of crimes. I didn’t know what form the film would take. I didn’t even have a clear structure.
I followed reality as it unfolded. The women in the film became my friends, my colleagues. Their journeys of recovery shaped the film itself. I didn’t want to impose a script, I wanted the film to grow organically, from within the lived experiences.
Despite everything, what gives you hope?
Alisa Kovalenko: For me, hope comes from looking back. After 2014, there was total silence, no recognition, no support. Today, women not only started to speak out about what they survived, but they also became activists, advocates, defenders, leaders of civil society.
Justice is slow. It’s a long and difficult process. But I believe in the daily work being done, step by step. That’s where I find hope. Even if justice takes years, or even if I don’t see it in my lifetime, I at least will know that I did my part.
What’s next?
Alisa Kovalenko: We have launched an impact campaign. We want to use the film as a platform to amplify survivors’ voices and bring this issue to as many spaces as possible.
We plan to organise screenings in embassies, different institutions, like the European Parliament. We hope this film can contribute by raising awareness, changing perceptions, and supporting the bigger fight.
