The film “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov, won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10.
The Academy Award For Ukraine
Did you watch the Oscars? The awards show is not my typical fare, but I wanted to see if 20 Days in Mariupol would win Best Documentary. And it did!
I’ve watched the documentary and others like it more than once. If you haven’t seen it, make time to inform yourself of what happened and is happening in Ukraine. Watch it here.
Chernov accepted the award by saying, “This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history. And I’m honored. But probably I’ll be the first director on this stage who will say, ‘I wish I never made this film’. I wish I could exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities. Cinema forms memories, and memories form history. Thanks to Ukraine. Slava Ukraini.”
The “20 Days in Mariupol” documentary comprised 30 hours of footage Chernov and his colleagues shot in Mariupol before the crew left the besieged city. Chernov and his AP colleague Vasylysa Stepanenko arrived in Mariupol one hour before the full-scale Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
Response From Ukraine
As the award was given, the internet lit up with posts from Ukraine, even though it was 3:00am local time.
“Thank you to @TheAcademy for tonight’s tremendous honor. We are deeply grateful and hope the award brings urgent awareness to events happening in Ukraine.”
Watch the documentary here.
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