Ideal Friend () is a 2025 Ukrainian short scienceâÂÂfiction film directed by Serhii Alioshechkin. It is the first Ukrainian film to explore the theme of artificial intelligence.
A special preâÂÂpremiere screening was held on 16 June 2025 during the Mykolaichuk Open film festival in Chernivtsi. The film's world premiere is expected later in 2025.
In the near future, Alice (played by Anzhelika Petrovska) is stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck. To survive, she relies on a superâÂÂintelligent AI assistantâÂÂno 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.
According to coâÂÂproducer Pylyp Illenko, the project was funded privately by the Petrovskyi family. Principal photography took place on Cyprus and in Paris.
Organizers of the 4th Mykolaichuk Open named the film one of the most anticipated entries. Dmytro Maistrenko, promoâÂÂproducer at FILM.UA, called it âÂÂone of the best Ukrainian short sciâÂÂfi filmsâ and compared its tension to that of the British series Black Mirror. The festivalâÂÂs programming director, Alex Malyshenko, said it could gain traction on genre festivals abroad.