Ukrainian documentary filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko has been named a laureate of the American Chicken & Egg Award 2024.

Alisa Kovalenko was born on 24 September 1987 in Zaporizhzhia. She is a director and cinematographer, known for Home Games (2018), We Will Not Fade Away (2023) and Alisa in Warland (2015).

The organization Chicken & Egg Pictures, which financially supports women and gender-nonconforming documentary filmmakers, announced eight laureates for the 2024 award on January 31st. Each of them will receive a $75,000 grant: $50,000 for career development and a $25,000 project grant, as well as an individual year-long mentorship program tailored to their project implementation.

"Chicken & Egg Pictures believes that filmmakers, especially those facing barriers related to their gender, race, class, and place of residence, should have financial freedom and flexibility when starting to work on new projects," said project manager Elyse Stokes.

Among the laureates is Ukrainian director Alisa Kovalenko.

Alisa Kovalenko

"I cannot imagine greater personal and professional support in these difficult times for us in Ukraine. This is the first award of such level for me," she commented on the award.

Kovalenko added that at the beginning of the full-scale war, she "completely lost faith in herself as a director, in cinema, in her ability to do something further in this field." And although, as she says, this faith has returned, it is still "very tender" — and it is precisely this support that "prevents this faith from extinguishing."

Alisa Kovalenko shared that in 2024, she plans to work on two documentary projects. The first is in the format of her "maternal" personal diary from the front line, where a woman writes letters to her son.

The second is the film "Traces" (co-authored with Marisia Nikitiuk). It will document the testimonies of six women who have experienced sexual violence and torture caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine.