Ideal Friend () is a 2025 Ukrainian short science‑fiction film directed by Serhii Alioshechkin. It is the first Ukrainian film to explore the theme of artificial intelligence.
A special pre‑premiere screening was held on 16 June 2025 during the Mykolaichuk Open film festival in Chernivtsi.
Plot
In the near future, Alice (played by Anzhelika Petrovska) is stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck. To survive, she relies on a super‑intelligent AI assistant—no larger than a pea and implanted in her ear. As the machine calculates her best chances of survival, Alice begins to question the consequences of human dependency on technology.
Cast
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Anzhelika Petrovska as Alice
-
Didier Marouani as Greg – cameo by the French electronic music pioneer and leader of the band Space
Production
According to co‑producer
Pylyp Illenko, the project was funded privately by the Petrovskyi family.
Principal photography took place on
Cyprus and in
Paris.
Reception
Organizers of the 4th Mykolaichuk Open named the film one of the most anticipated entries.
Dmytro Maistrenko, promo‑producer at FILM.UA, called it “one of the best Ukrainian short sci‑fi films” and compared its tension to that of the British series
Black Mirror. The festival’s programming director, Alex Malyshenko, said it could gain traction on genre festivals abroad.
External links
