Hi Papa!

Genre: Documentary
Year: 2024
Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes

Production: Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia
Language: Russian

Director: Aleksandra Kretsan
Screenwriters: Aleksandra Kretsan, Boris Ulitovsky
Cinematographer: Boris Ulitovsky, Marina Levashova
Producers: Aleksandra Kretsan, Egor Kretsan
Composers: Timofey Hess, Shura Kuznetsova
Sound operator: Valeria Dombrovskaya

Statement

One winter evening at dusk, we were walking together on a frozen lake. I had long felt that our meeting was no coincidence. That day, Nadia began to recall her past for the first time, a past filled with violence and horror.

We agreed that if she ever decided to return and to face her father whom she hadn’t seen in over 15 years, I would go with her. Two years later, she called me, and within days, I was on a plane to northern Kazakhstan. Not knowing what to expect but feeling that I had no choice but to go.

At the heart of this story is Nadia's journey toward making a crucial decision and her path. Through confronting her past, accepting it, and overcoming the pain, she moves toward healing herself for a future life.

The film captures both the visible and the internal, conveying subtle movements and emotions that the audience can connect with, prompting self-reflection. This gives rise to the artistic approach of weaving poetic imagery into the real events - snow-covered scenes of Nadia’s home, sometimes almost surreal, like a reflection of her soul, where a voice resonates.

This voice is reflective, leading us through the narrative, engaging the viewer. It intertwines the childlike and the mature, conscious experiences meeting the subconscious, joy meeting disappointment. The blending of voice and space creates depth: we view the world from within Nadia, yet also observe it from a distance.
Many involved in the film had their own painful childhood experiences. Each of us, including myself, journeyed with Nadia through our own personal paths.

The entire musical score was created by a composer who, during the process, also met his father and faced his fears for the first time in years. This experience birthed melodies that became a sonic illustration of Nadia’s emotional states, tracing her journey in a way that allows us to follow along.

In another context, "Hello, Papa!" is a film that, through one woman’s story, reflects on a societal illness likely prevalent across all post-Soviet societies, where codependency and violence are passed down from generation to generation like a dark legacy. This violence is often silenced, joked away, or denied, distorting the internal self.

This film is not a direct exploration of the problem, but an invitation to discuss it and the trauma that profoundly shapes our lives: influencing how we love and how we perceive the world.

Trauma has no nationality or geography: you can find such stories in thousands of towns with very similar settings. Floral wallpapers, greasy kitchens, poverty. Men who drink to forget their pain. Women frozen in fear, whose eyes show a mix of horror, naivety, and hopelessness. Children scarred by trauma, who grow up carrying that burden forward. And only a few, like Nadia, find the strength to change the trajectory of their lives and their families, breaking the vicious cycle of inherited suffering.

Festivals & Recognition

Flahertiana Festival, Perm, 2025 - National Competition

Artdocfest, Riga, 2025 - Open Competition

Message to a Man, St. Petersburg, 2024 - National competition

Special Jury Diploma “For the attempt and courage to revisit childhood“
Balabanov Diploma “For selfless honesty and piercing tenderness“

Lavr Doc Award, 2024

Best Debut Shortlist

Dziga Vertov Award, 2024

Best Debut Longlist

Press

“Trauma rules as long as it remains invisible — Aleksandra Kretsan on Hi Papa”
Seance Magazin, October, 2024

“Aleksandra Kretsan’s Hi Papa is a film about a therapeutic journey into a difficult childhood. How it came to be — and how it affected the protagonist.”
PaperPaper, April, 2025

Screenshots