Mama’s Voice: Women’s Voices from the War in Ukraine.

Join us in person for an unforgettable event celebrating the strength and resilience of women during the war in Ukraine.

is an intimate documentary about motherhood, displacement, and the extraordinary bond between two mothers -Ukrainian and Polish- brought together by war. Told through the eyes of a refugee, the film amplifies the voices of displaced Ukrainian women and children, reminding us that even in the darkest times, love and kindness continue to speak.

The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with producers Larysa Iarovenko & Dmytro Konovalov and a performance by Sasha Theodora, a Ukrainian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist, singer/musician, filmmaker and folk artist, and Ewelina Ferenc, a Toronto-based Polish vocalist, cultural ambassador, and folk artist.

Moderator: , a Canadian cinematographer, film director, writer and professor.

Sponsored by The Creative School, TMU.

About Mama's Voice:

In 2022, in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ganna and her family flee their homeland to seek shelter in Poland. There, they meet Kaja and her family. The profound bond that develops between the two mothers helps Ganna navigate trauma, loss, and the devastations of war.

Forged during extraordinary circumstances, Mama’s Voice is simultaneously an intimate portrait of a single family torn by war and a universal story of women’s friendship. It explores strength, displacement, and the transformative power of human connection in times of crisis.

Seen through the eyes of a refugee, this film reveals a deeply personal experience of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Amplifying the voices of displaced Ukrainian women and children, Mama’s Voice reminds us that even in the darkest moments, love and kindness continue to speak.

About participants:

Larysa Iarovenko is the producer of the documentary Mama’s Voice. She studied journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and later earned a Master’s degree from the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Toronto, where she worked for nearly a decade as the Petro Jacyk and Ukrainian Programs Coordinator.

Her career began in Ukraine, where she worked as a TV anchor and journalist as well as a scriptwriter of several documentary films, including Chornobyl: Facts and Documents (1992), To Kuban for Happiness (1993), and Kobzari (1993), produced by Ukrkinokhronika.

From 2016 to 2018, Larysa served as a Project Manager at the Ukrainian Institute in London and co-produced Ukraine Calling, a weekly English-language radio program on Hromadske Radio. After returning to Canada in 2018, she resumed her work at the University of Toronto, and Mama’s Voice is her first film as a producer.

Dmytro Konovalov is the co-producer of Mama’s Voice. He graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and holds an MA from Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Dmytro is a Canadian educator, financial journalist, and investor. His professional experience includes work in project finance at Northland Power, a Canadian renewable energy developer, and in equity research and analysis at HSBC Global Markets and UniCredit Securities. This is also his first time producing a film.

Zoe Dirse, CSC is an award-winning Canadian cinematographer, director, educator, and advocate for women in film. A pioneer in Canadian cinematography, she began her career in 1979 and went on to shoot more than 70 films with the National Film Board of Canada, including acclaimed documentaries such as Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, Runaway Grooms, Vendetta Song and Baltic Fire. Dirse has taught cinematography at several Canadian institutions and is widely recognized for her mentorship of emerging filmmakers. In 2018, she received both the Rogers-DOC Luminary Award and the Women in Film & Television Toronto Mentorship Award. She currently serves as President of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.

Special Musical Guests:

Sasha Theodora is a diasporan Ukrainian multidisciplinary artist working across textiles, performance, music, and film. One of the founding members of Kosa Folk Arts in Toronto, she is deeply passionate about exploring and researching the vocal traditions of Ukraine. She is a recent MFA graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University (2025) and has been in musical projects in genres ranging from electronic, Ghosts Within, jazz, Queen Cake and world acapella choir, Trendafilka.

Ewelina Ferenc is a Toronto-based Polish vocalist, cultural ambassador, and folk artist known for her dedication to preserving and reimagining Polish musical traditions. As lead singer of Polky and recipient of the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year, she brings the rich heritage of Polish folk music to diverse audiences across North America.

Together, Sasha and Ewelina celebrate the cultural traditions of Eastern Europe through music, storytelling, and community engagement, fostering cross-cultural understanding and preserving the living heritage of their homelands.