| 20 Days in Mariupol | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Ukrainian | 20 днів у Маріуполі |
| Directed by | Mstyslav Chernov |
| Written by | Mstyslav Chernov |
| Produced by | Raney Aronson-Rath Mstyslav Chernov Derl McCrudden Michelle Mizner |
| Cinematography | Mstyslav Chernov Evgeniy Maloletka |
| Edited by | Michelle Mizner |
| Music by | Jordan Dykstra |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | PBS Distribution |
Release date | |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Languages | Ukrainian English Russian |
| "20 Days in Mariupol" | |
|---|---|
| Frontline episode | |
| Episodeno. | Season 2023 Episode 22 |
| Original air date | 21 November 2023 (2023-11-21) |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| "20 Days in Mariupol".PBS. full documentary with introduction | |
| List of episodes | |
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukrainian:«20 днів у Маріуполі»,romanized: 20 dniv u Mariupoli) is a 2023 Ukrainiandocumentary film with footage from the first several weeks of theRussian invasion of Ukraine directed byMstyslav Chernov.[2]
The film had its world premiere at the2023 Sundance Film Festival,[1] where it won theSundance World Cinema Documentary Competition.[3][4][5] It was selected as the Ukrainian submission for theAcademy Award for Best International Feature Film at the96th Academy Awards,[6][7] but it was instead nominated in theBest Documentary Feature Film category and went on to win the award.[8] The film was also nominated for twoBAFTAs and won one of them,[9][10] also won aDirectors Guild of America Award[11] andUkrainian National Film Academy Award.[12]
The film has received critical acclaim and was named one of the top five documentary films of 2023 by theNational Board of Review.[13] The film was also screened at the start of the 78th session of theUN General Assembly.[14]
The film tells the story of the twenty days Chernov spent with his colleagues in thebesieged city of Mariupol in February–March 2022 in the first weeks of thefull-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chernov compiled footage that he collected in Mariupol together with the team fromPBS'sFrontline and theAssociated Press (AP).
As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, the Associated Press team documented theRussian siege and the resulting humanitarian disaster, war crimes by Russian forces, including mass murder of civilian casualties. In particular, AP was the first to show the consequences ofRussia's bombing of Mariupol maternity hospital No. 3. Materials were periodically sent to the editorial office from the only place in Mariupol where there was still an online connection – under the stairs near the crushed grocery store, so it was possible to transfer ten percent of the filmed material. The rest of the material, in particular 30 hours of Mstislav Chernov's video, was taken out of Mariupol by the AP team on 15 March 2022 through the humanitarian corridor.[15] By that time, Chernov's AP crew were the last journalists in the city.[16][17]
The film from the materials of Chernov was created by thePBS'sFrontline team.[18]
UK-based documentary film-distribution companyDogwoof oversees international sales rights, and handles all worldwide sales excluding North America, wherePBS Distribution has acquired rights.[19]
The film was released inselected theaters in the US on 14 July 2023.[20] In Ukraine, the film was released in selected theaters on 31 August 2023.[21] Pre-premiere screenings took place in various cities throughout Ukraine, including inKyiv (Bouquet Kyiv Stage 2023 festival)[22] andLviv (NGO "Lviv Media Forum").[23] On 21 April 2024 film was released onNetflix.[24]
In October, the film was to be shown at the Serbian Beldocs festival at theLazarevac Cultural Center in the suburbs ofBelgrade. On 10 October, far-right ultra-nationalistSerbian Radical Party called for the cancellation of the screening of the "anti-Russian propaganda film of theKyiv regime", which is "an attempt by theWest to change the attitude of the Serbian people towardsbrotherly Russia".[25] On 12 October, festival administration canceled the screening, stressing that "Beldocs is not behind this decision and did not participate in it".[26] Eventually, the film was shown in Belgrade on 21 February 2024.[27]
On the first weekend of September 2023, the film collected more than 530,000 UAH (c. US$15,000) at the Ukrainian box office, becoming the highest-grossing Ukrainian documentary in history.[28] Overall by March 2024, the film's box office was $20,500.[29]
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holdsan approval rating of 100% based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "20 Days in Mariupol offers a grueling but vital look at the devastating impact of war."[30] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on nineteen reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[31]
Dennis Harvey ofVariety wrote that "This is bleak but essential viewing", and that "this nonfiction feature may not have a simple narrative arc, but the director's unpretentious first-person narration and the intensity of the war-crimes evidence compiled make it riveting nonetheless."[32]Frank Scheck ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote that20 Days in Mariupol "is a particularly immersive example of the genre, chronicling the weekslong siege of the titular Ukrainian city by Russian forces. [...] What comes through most vividly, other than the human tragedy on display, is the vital importance of war correspondents and the courage and ingenuity they must possess in order to work under such life-threatening conditions."[33] Randy Myers ofThe Mercury News gave the film 3.5/4 stars, calling it a "grim, essential piece of journalism" and "an immersive account from Ukrainian journalists at the AP who spent nearly three weeks embedded in a port city that was targeted by Russia and mercilessly attacked."[34]
Matt Zoller Seitz ofRogerEbert.com gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, stating that "It goes on a short list of great documentaries that the viewer will never want to watch again. ... This is a dispatch from hell on earth. The fragmented, chaotic, imprecise nature of it is a revelation."[35]
20 Days in Mariupol was included in competition of theSundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary category. The world premiere took place at the festival in January 2023.[36] The film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary category.
The film received more than 20 awards and was nominated forBAFTAs in 2 categories,[9] and won in one of them,[10]Academy Awards in one category[37] and wonDirectors Guild of America Awards.[11] It also was awarded theAlfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2024.[38]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival | 29 January 2023 | World Cinema: Documentary Competition | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | [36] |
| World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary | Won | ||||
| Cinema for Peace Awards | 24 February 2023 | Most Valuable Documentary of the Year | Won | [39] | |
| Cleveland International Film Festival | 1 April 2023 | Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award | Won | [40] | |
| Doc Edge | 3 June 2023 | Best International Feature | Nominated | [41] | |
| Best International Director | Mstyslav Chernov | Won | |||
| Best International Editing | Michelle Mizner | Won | |||
| DocuDays UA | 8 June 2023 | DOCU/UKRAINE Competition Jury Award | 20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [42] |
| Audience Award | Won | ||||
| Sheffield DocFest | 19 June 2023 | Tim Hetherington Award | Won | [43] | |
| Athens International Film Festival | 9 October 2023 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [44] | |
| Best Documentary – Special Mention | Won | [45] | |||
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | 12 November 2023 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | [46][47] | |
| Best First Documentary Feature | Won | ||||
| Best Political Documentary | Won | ||||
| Best Narration | Mstyslav Chernov | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Michelle Mizner | Nominated | |||
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 27 November 2023 | Best Documentary Feature | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | [48] |
| National Board of Review | 6 December 2023 | Top 5 Documentary Films | Won[a] | [49] | |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | 10 December 2023 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [50] | |
| IndieWire Critics Poll | 11 December 2023 | Best Documentary | 3rd Place | [51] | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | 12 December 2023 | Best Documentary Film | Nominated | [52] | |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | 17 December 2023 | Best Documentary | Runner-up | [53][54] | |
| North Texas Film Critics Association [fr] | 18 December 2023 | Best Documentary Film | Nominated | [55] | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | 18 December 2023 | Best Documentary Film | Second | [56] | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association | 17 December 2023 | Allan King Documentary Award | Won | [57] | |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 19 December 2023 | Best Documentary | Runner-up | [58] | |
| Nevada Film Critics Society [fr] | 23 December 2023 | Best Documentary | Won | [59] | |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 3 January 2024 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [60] | |
| Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards | 6 January 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | [61] | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | 6 January 2024 | Best Non-Fiction Film | Runner-up[b] | [62] | |
| Seattle Film Critics Society Awards | 8 January 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | Won | [63] | |
| San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards | 9 January 2024 | Best Documentary Film | Won | [64] | |
| Austin Film Critics Association Awards | 10 January 2024 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [65] | |
| London Critics' Circle Awards | 4 February 2024 | Documentary of the Year | Won | [66] | |
| Denver Film Critics Society [ar;es;it;zh] | 12 January 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | [67] | |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 12 January 2024 | Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature | Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCrudden | Nominated | [68] |
| Outstanding Debut | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | |||
| Audience Choice Prize | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Editing | Michelle Mizner | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Production | Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCrudden | Won | |||
| Houston Film Critics Society | 22 January 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | [69][70] |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle | 27 January 2024 | Best Documentary | Won[c] | [71] | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 10 February 2024 | Outstanding Directing – Documentary | Mstyslav Chernov | Won | [11] |
| British Film Editors Cut Above Awards | 16 February 2024 | Best Edited Single Documentary or Non-Fiction Programme | Michelle Mizner | Nominated | [72] |
| Best Edited Current Affairs | Won | ||||
| Satellite Awards | 3 March 2024 | Best Motion Picture – Documentary | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | [73] |
| British Academy Film Awards | 18 February 2024 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Mstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson-Rath | Nominated | [9][10] |
| Best Documentary | Won | ||||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | 25 February 2024 | Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures | 20 Days in Mariupol | Nominated | [74] |
| American Cinema Editors | 3 March 2024 | Best Edited Documentary (Theatrical) | Michelle Mizner | Nominated | [75] |
| Academy Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Documentary Feature Film | Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath | Won | [37][76] |
| Peabody Awards | 9 May 2024 | Documentary | 20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [77] |
| Edward R. Murrow Award | 19 August 2024 | Feature Documentary — Network TV | 20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [78] |
| International Broadcasting Convention Award | 29 August 2024 | International Honour for Excellence | Mstyslav Chernov for20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [79] |
| Golden Dzyga | 12 September 2024 | Best Film | 20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [80] |
| Best Documentary | Won | ||||
| Grierson Awards | 7 November 2024 | Best Current Affairs Documentary | 20 Days in Mariupol | Won | [81] |
| Best Cinema Documentary | Won | ||||
| Polish Film Awards | 10 March 2025 | Best European Film | Mstyslav Chernov | Nominated | [82] |