Ukrainian Documentary '20 Days In Mariupol' Wins Oscar Award

• 11.03.2024, 8:21

This is the first Ukrainian film to win the Oscar.

The documentary film "20 Days in Mariupol" by Ukrainian director Mstislav Chernov about the crimes of Russian occupants in Mariupol, Donetsk region, has won the Best Feature Documentary Oscar of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This is the first Ukrainian film to win the Oscar.

Photojournalist Yevhen Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, who worked with the director in Mariupol encircled by occupiers in 2022, came up to the stage with Chernov. Along with Chernov, American film producers Michelle Mizner and Reni Aronson-Rath received awards.

"I wish I never had to make this film. I wish I could exchange it for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities, never killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians ... I want it to release all hostages, all soldiers defending their land, all civilians in prison..." Chernov said at the award ceremony.

The 96th Academy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles on the night of March 11.