The IWM and the Documenting Ukraine program, in particular, are glad to announce that the documentary film „20 Days in Mariupol,“ directed by Ukrainian photographer and Documenting Ukraine grantee Mstyslav Chernov, has won the first-ever Ukrainian Oscar. The film was shot during the first weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a besieged city. The realization of the film is in and of itself an extraordinary accomplishment, because the footage could be smuggled away from Mariupol by being stored under the carseats of the director and his team. Had the footage been found in the car, it would have meant execution for the film crew.
„20 Days in Mariupol“ has won a BAFTA Award and the Directors Guild of America. In 2023, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, and Lori Hinnant, who were covering the events of the Russo-Ukrainian War as Associated Press reporters, received the Pulitzer Prize. In his speech for The Academy Awards, Chernov said, "I am honored, but I will probably be the first director on this stage to say that I wish I had never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never invading our cities."
Two screenings of the documentary were organized in Vienna in collaboration with the Documenting Ukraine program: in December 2022 as part of this human world – International Human Rights Film Festival, and in February 2024, to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The documentary is a testimony of the atrocities of the war that the whole world bore witness to. Its victory at this year’s Academy Awards is a sign of hope that justice will prevail.
