'20 Days in Mariupol' wins best documentary Oscar, a first for AP and PBS' 'Frontline'
A harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, “20 Days in Mariupol” has won the best documentary Oscar
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the best documentary Oscar on Sunday night.
A joint production of The Associated Press and PBS' “Frontline,” statuettes were awarded to Chernov, producer and editor Michelle Mizner and producer Raney Aronson-Rath. The Oscar — and nomination — was a first for both Chernov, an AP video journalist, and the 178-year-old news organization. This was the third nomination and first win for “Frontline.”
Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko arrived an hour before Russia began bombing the port city. Two weeks later, they were the last journalists working for an international outlet in the city, sending crucial dispatches to the outside world showing civilian casualties of all ages, the digging of mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital and the sheer extent of the devastation.
On the ground, Chernov encounters quite a few different reactions to the team's presence on the ground. Some thanked the journalists for doing their jobs. Some called them prostitutes. Some doctors urged them to film graphic scenes of injured and dead children to show the world what had been done.
