From: Atlantic Council By Peter Dickinson @Biz_Ukraine_Mag
via UkraineAlert
Ukrainian wartime documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” won the country’s first ever Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 10. For most Ukrainians, however, this was a bittersweet moment. Two years on from the harrowing events captured in Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov’s film, their country is still fighting for national survival against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
In a powerful Oscar acceptance speech, Chernov acknowledged the very mixed emotions that accompanied Ukraine’s cinematic breakthrough. “This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” he said. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish I was able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities, not killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians.”
The award-winning documentary draws on around 30 hours of raw footage recorded by Chernov as he sought to document the rapidly deteriorating situation inside front line city Mariupol as Russian troops closed in during the initial weeks of the full-scale invasion in early 2022. At the time, Chernov was working in the city as an Associated Press video journalist. He was among the last representatives of the international media to escape from Mariupol before it fell to the Russians.
Voice of Ukraine 