Volodymyr Kovalenko was born in the Kharkiv region in 1963. He studied in the workshop of Volodymyr Denysenko (graduating in 1985). He was recognized at the "Molodist-85" Film Festival for his graduation film PIT. He was one of the youngest directors to debut a feature film at the Dovzhenko Film Studios (with the film GINGER FAIRY in 1987).