Mstyslav Chernov: 20 Days in Mariupol
This text is from the website of the film:
“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.
After nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press, 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.”
This text is from the Ukrainian DocuDays festival website – the film won the first prize in the Ukrainian competition category and the Audience Award. The motivation for the first one goes like this: “Unprecedented document of the time and evidence of crime. But despite all the captured monstrosity and dehumanization the film leaves the viewer with a sense of forceful determination to keep resisting – because of the professional commitment and public service of the ordinary heroes in front and behind the camera.“
All of you remember the scene with the pregnant woman being carried to the hospital, an iconic photo… mother and child did not survive – I chose another photo taken from the DOC/NY site.
