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20 Days in Mariupol

Director

Mstyslav Chernov

Producers

Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath, Derl McCrudden

Editor

Michelle Mizner

Consulting Editor

Co-Editor

Assistant Editor

Cinematographer

Mstyslav Chernvov

Additional Cinematography

Music

Sound

Narration

Contact

An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more. With nearly a decade of experience covering international conflicts for The Associated Press, including the Russia-Ukraine war, 20 Days in Mariupol is Mstyslav Chernov’s first feature film. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone and the impact of such journalism around the globe.

Courtesy of FRONTLINE | PBS

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Mstyslav Chernov

Director, 2000 Meters to Andriivka

Mstyslav Chernov is a Ukrainian filmmaker, war correspondent, videographer, photojournalist, and novelist. He is a Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award® winner known for his coverage of the Revolution of Dignity, War in Donbas, the downing of flight MH17, Syrian civil war, Battle of Mosul in Iraq, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the Siege of Mariupol. Chernov’s work on the Siege of Mariupol for The Associated Press, earned AP the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, the Knight International Journalism Awards, Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, Free Media Awards, CJFE International Press Freedom Award, Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards, and Shevchenko National Prize. AP video journalism from Mariupol became the basis of the film 20 Days in Mariupol, which premiered Sundance Film Festival in 2023, where the film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary category. The film later won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and Best Documentary Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. Chernov won a Directors Guild of America Award. In 2023, The Associated Press earned the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for Chernov’s work with Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, and Lori Hinnant. He has both won and been a finalist for the Livingston Award, Rory Peck Award, Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize, and various Royal Television Society awards. Chernov is an Associated Press journalist and the President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPF). He has been a member of “Ukrainian PEN” since July 2022.

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