Ukrainian filmmaker Awards and journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards last Sunday.
The film, which is based on the attack on the southern city of Mariupol in the first few days of the Russian invasion in February 2022, is considered to be able to explain the frenzied nature of the Russian invasion to the world.
“This is the first Oscar Awards in the history of Ukraine and I am honored to receive it,” said an emotional Mstyslav Chernov while accepting the award in Los Angeles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram channel on Monday that the film “shows the truth about Russian terrorism.”
Mstyslav Chernov’s ability to tell the world about the cruel destruction of war from the world’s biggest platform has been praised by the President of Ukraine.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, says that this Oscar award in the history of Ukraine sends an important message to the world.
During the Russian invasion, Mstyslav Chernov, along with his AP colleagues Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko, managed to arrive an hour before Russia bombed the port city of Mariupol. The film includes the worst Russian war crimes, including the attack on a maternity hospital.