''Ideal Friend'' () is a 2025 Ukrainian short science‑fiction film directed by

Serhii Alioshechkin Serhii ( ) is a Ukrainian masculine given name that comes from the ancient Roman generic name Sergius. Other transliterations of the name include Sergiy, Serhiy, Sergii, and Serhij. Ukrainian-born people * Sergiy Bezugliy (born 1984), sprint can ...

. It is the first Ukrainian film to explore the theme of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. A special pre‑premiere screening was held on 16 June 2025 during the Mykolaichuk Open film festival in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

. The film's world premiere is expected later in 2025.

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

* Anzhelika Petrovska as Alice *

Didier Marouani Didier "Ecama" Marouani (born 14 July 1953) is a French composer and musician born in Monaco. Biography Didier started his career as a pop singer and made his first single, "Je suis ton chevalier" (''I am your knight'') with Etienne Roda-Gil ...

as Greg – cameo by the French electronic music pioneer and leader of the band ''

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

Production

According to co‑producer

Pylyp Illenko Pylyp Yuriyovych Illenko (; born 30 September 1977) is a Ukrainian actor, politician and producer who served as the head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency from 2014 to 2019. Early life and education Illenko was born in Kyiv on 30 September 1 ...

, the project was funded privately by the Petrovskyi family. Principal photography took place on

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...

''. The festival’s programming director, Alex Malyshenko, said it could gain traction on genre festivals abroad.

References

External links

Ideal Friend
at IMDb {{DEFAULTSORT:Ideal Friend 2025 films 2025 short films Ukrainian short films Ukrainian science fiction Films about artificial intelligence Films shot in Paris Films shot in Cyprus