In 2014, I survived captivity and sexual violence in the occupied Donbas. After two weeks of filming in the occupied territory of Donetsk region in 2014, I was captured, interrogated and raped by a Russian counterintelligence officer. Later, when I testified to the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, it turned out that I was the first woman to speak openly about such a crime in Ukraine. And it was not because I was the only one, but because there was a huge wall of silence and stigma. For a long time, the topic of CRSV was not discussed in Ukraine; it was a taboo topic for society.  

Then, in 2019, former civilian war prisoner Iryna Dovhan invited me to the first meeting of women who had survived conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine. During the meeting, I felt just such strong mutual support between us survivors and the importance of working together in the future that I decided to become part of this community. Soon, we became the first non-governmental organisation in Ukraine that united women who had survived sexual violence and torture as a result of Russian aggression – SEMA Ukraine.

With the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the number of CRSV crimes increased, and we saw the horrific systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war by Russia. SEMA Ukraine began helping new survivors and empowering others to speak out about what they had experienced. Iryna, the head of our organisation, started travelling to de-occupied territories and documenting women's testimonies. We felt that we had to do more to make the world aware of these war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. So I joined Iryna in documenting war crimes on the de-occupied territories, and that's how the work on Traces began.

In a sense, I defined this work for myself on equal terms, both as a director and as a representative of the community of survivors of sexual violence in the war. And this is a unique case when such a story is told from the inside and symbolically resonates with one of the rules of survivors, "Nothing about us without us." Since I have been engaged in human rights activities in this sector for 6 years, I also see this film as a powerful tool for advocacy and human rights defence. It is a call to the world for global action and solidarity, as well as a message of hope and strength to all survivors of violence. 

Despite the fact that this film has a very strong human rights component, it was important for me to balance it with the artistic creativity and cinematic approach of the film, with a special visual language, subtle psychology and deep imagery. This is an incredibly delicate and sensitive topic, and I can understand it even more deeply because I have experienced it myself, so I had to find this particular, delicate cinema language. The film expresses feelings and emotions through associative, metaphorical images, a thoughtful observation of the characters, the details and atmosphere around them, the interiors, nature and its states. Despite the pitch-black darkness, drama, tragedy, unbearable testimonies of horrific violence and torture, trauma and pain, there is a way out into the light and healing, and this gives hope to all of us... 

And the most important thing for me is that this film finally takes Ukrainian women survivors of CRSV out of the shadow of ¡®victims¡¯, amplifies their voices, shows their resistance, post-traumatic growth, and emphasises the power of women's resilience, solidarity, and mutual support.