On December 8, Scandinavia House presents a special screening and film talk of Ukraine’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards: the powerful, defiant war documentary Traces. Director Alisa Kovalenko and producers Olha Bergman and Natalia Libet will be present for a Q&A following the screening.
Traces
Dir. Alisa Kovalenko, Marysia Nikitiuk | Ukraine/Poland, 2026 | 85 min
Recipient of the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2026 Berlinale, Traces shines a light on Ukrainian women who, after surviving conflict-related sexual violence and torture during the Russian war of aggression, refuse to remain silent. Through the journey of Iryna Dovhan, a former captive turned activist who documents testimonies of affected women in the de-occupied territories of Ukraine, the film weaves a portrait of a collective trauma while opening space for hope.
Iryna gathers other survivors from diverse backgrounds into a circle of courage and care: Olha Cherniak is a civil servant in a district administration; Tetiana Vasylenko and Galyna Tyshchenko are entrepreneurs; Nina is a farmer; and Liudmyla Mefodivna Mlymrykova is a former Ukrainian language and literature teacher whose school was bombed. Together, they transform their pain into a force for truth, justice and mutual support. More than a record of war crimes, Traces is a testament to resilience and the solidarity of women standing side by side.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Ukrainian documentary filmmaker and activist Alisa Kovalenko’s films Alisa in Warland and Home Games have won multiple awards. Her teenage adventure documentary We Will Not Fade Away, set in the war-torn Donbas region, premiered in the Berlinale Generation section in 2023. After the Russian invasion, she fought on the front line before returning to filmmaking with the documentary My Dear Theo in 2025. She is a former captive and survivor of conflict-related sexual violence and, as a member of SEMA Ukraine, is an active advocate for victims of sexual violence and for human rights.
Olha Bregman is a Ukrainian producer with more than 15 years of experience in film production. She is a co-founder of a women-led “2Brave Productions”. Her credits include award-winning movies such as RULES OF TWO WALLS (Special jury prize at Tribeca FF 2023) by David Gutnik, STOP-ZEMLIA by Kateryna Gornostai (Crystal Bear Generation 14+ at Berlinale 2021), INTERCEPTED by Oksana Karpovych (Two special mentions award at Berlinale 2024), COLLAPSE. HOW THE UKRAINIANS RUINED THE EMPIRE OF EVIL (2021 Documentary Series for Ukrainian National Channel). Olha served as Chairwoman of the Board of the Ukrainian Film Academy in 2022-24. Alumni of Ex Oriente and Eurodoc training programs.
Natalia Libet has gained experience in co-production, investment and finance while working for international companies primarily of the U.S. and German origin. Since 2017, she has been working as a film producer and, most recently, as a co-founder of the women-led “2Brave Productions” in Kyiv, Ukraine. As a jury member, she joined Bratislava’s Febiofest in 2019, Wiesbaden’s goEast FF, Plzen’s Finale FF as well as Amsterdam’s IDFA Forum in 2022. Natalia obtained an MBA in the U.S. as a winner of the 2000 Edmund Muskie/Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship Award. She is a member of the European Producers Club, European and Ukrainian Film Academies, an alumna of EURODOC 2021 and a fellow of Nipkow Program 2023. Currently, Natalia also serves as the Head of Tatino Films First Cut+, a workshop focusing on marketing and positioning of feature films. In 2024, Natalia became a Film Independent Global Media Makers fellow.