Traces shines a light on Ukrainian women who, after surviving conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and torture during Russia’s war, refuse to remain silent. Through the journey of Iryna Dovhan, a former captive turned activist, who documents testimonies of affected women on the de-occupied territories of Ukraine, the film weaves a collective portrait of trauma while opening space for hope. Iryna gathers other survivors into a circle of courage and care. Together, they transform their pain into a force for truth, justice, and mutual support.
More than a document of war crimes, the film is a testament to resilience and the solidarity of women standing side by side.
CREW:
Director: Alisa Kovalenko, Co-director: Marysia Nikitiuk
Producer: Olha Bregman, Natalia Libet, Co-producers: Violetta Kamińska, Izabela Wójcik, Dariusz Jabłoński
Cinematographer: Alisa Kovalenko
Editor: Nikon Romanchenko, Alisa Kovalenko, Milenia Fiedler
Sound: Mariia Nesterenko, Maciej Amilkiewicz
Production
2Brave Productions & Message Film
Sales:
Stranger Films Sales
Awards
76 International Berlin Film Festival, Panorama section, Panorama Audience Award; Grand Jury Documentary Award at the Movies That Matter festival
Director
Alisa Kovalenko
Alisa Kovalenko is a Ukrainian award-winning documentary director. Her films Alisa in Warland (IDFA 2015) and Home Games (Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018) won multiple awards. We Will Not Fade Away, a teenage adventure documentary set in war-torn Donbas, premiered at the Berlinale 2023. After Russia’s invasion, she fought on the front line before returning to filmmaking with the personal documentary My Dear Theo (CPH:DOX 2025). A former captive and survivor of conflict-related sexual violence, she is a member of SEMA Ukraine and an active human rights advocate—experiences that led her to make Traces.Selected Filmography
Traces (2026), My Dear Theo (2025), We Will Not Fade Away (2023), Girl Away From Home (2023), Home Games (2018), Alisa In Warland (2015) 
Director
Marysia Nikitiuk
Marysia Nikitiuk is an award-winning Ukrainian screenwriter and film director. Her debut feature, When the Trees Fall, received the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Script and premiered in Berlinale Panorama in 2018. She co-wrote Evge / Homeward by Nariman Aliev, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. In 2026, Marysia co-directed the documentary Traces with Alisa Kovalenko, which won the Audience Award in Berlinale Panorama.
Alongside her fiction work, Marysia has collaborated with the Voices of Children Foundation on art-based rehabilitation projects with teenagers affected by war, and created a trilogy of short films exploring war trauma.
Selected Filmography
Traces (2026), The Best Years (2026), Generation (2025), Lucky Girl (2022), When The Trees Fall (2018)
