Eyewitness documentary shot by war reporter Mstyslav Chernov during the Russian siege of the Ukrainian city takes Academy Award – the country’s first

Eyewitness documentary shot by war reporter Mstyslav Chernov during the Russian siege of the Ukrainian city takes Academy Award – the country’s first

The Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol, which was shot inside the besieged port city during the assault by Russian forces, has won the best documentary Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Directed by Mstyslav Chernov, a Ukrainian journalist who documented the invasion in early 2022, 20 Days in Mariupol drew wide acclaim after its premiere at the Sundance film festival in 2023, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “a searing film [that] bears a terrible witness to this great crime” in a five-star review. In an interview with the Guardian, Chernov described the film as “some kind of collective resistance to tragedy”.

  • dropout@lemmy.worldEnglish
    351·
    8 months ago

    This documentary is heart breaking. That the war is still ongoing is heart breaking. Putin is a monster.

  • agent_flounder@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    8 months ago

    Having been there way back and meeting some great people I will watch this. I hadn’t heard about the film until this post.

  • Vanon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    8 months ago

    I happened upon it thanks to PBS Frontline at YouTube a while ago. https://youtu.be/gvAyykRvPBo I’m sure it captures only 1/1000 of the terror committed by Putin and his toy soldiers, and yet it should be more than enough. Glory to Ukraine.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    41·
    8 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol, which was shot inside the besieged port city during the assault by Russian forces, has won the best documentary Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

    Directed by Mstyslav Chernov, a Ukrainian journalist who documented the invasion in early 2022, 20 Days in Mariupol drew wide acclaim after its premiere at the Sundance film festival in 2023, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “a searing film [that] bears a terrible witness to this great crime” in a five-star review.

    In an interview with the Guardian, Chernov described the film as “some kind of collective resistance to tragedy”.

    In the end it triumphed over contenders including Ugandan political documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President, and Alzheimer’s study The Eternal Memory.

    Chernov said he also would love to be able to swap the honour for Russia “releasing the hostages” as well as “the civilians who are now in their jails.”

    “But we all together, you – some of the most talented people in the world – can make sure the history record is set straight and the truth will prevail and the people of Mariupol and those who have lost their lives will never be forgotten.

    The original article contains 334 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 39%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    It’s great that two organizations that more or less act in the public interest won an academy award.

    20 days in Mariupol is the work of the Associated Press and PBS’s Frontline. This has to be one of the first times that a major documentary winner wasn’t attached to a for-profit studio.