Oscar nomination for '20 days in Mariupol'
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, January 23: At a time when the war has become a new normal in various parts of the world, a documentary shot by journalists has bagged the the Oscar 2024 nomination. The documentary feature film ’20 days in Mariupol’ has already bagged several critical accolades from the global film bodies.
Ukrainian Mstyslav Chernov is the director of the film ’20 days in Mariupol’. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. He had captured the the first onslaught of Russia in the port city of Mariupol after the Russian army invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, leaving a trail of destruction and deaths which continue even now.
The film, a joint production between the Associated Press and the PBS Frontline, captures the images of the killings and destructions in the port city in the first three weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The AP, which is an international news agency, has said that it is for the first time that a documentary produced by it has been nominated for Oscars in 178 years of its history.
The AP said that Chernov was joined by a photographer Evgeniy Maloletka. The news agency in a report said that Vasilisa Stepanenco was the field producer of the documentary.
It may be recalled that Russia had bombarded the port city of Mariupol to cut off the beleaguered country from the sea. This was aimed to deny Ukraine an access to sea to ship its grains to the world market and hurt the economy of Kyiv.
The film claims that while many documentaries tell important stories, but few bear real-time witness to atrocities of our time. Global accounts suggest that thousands of the people in Ukraine have been killed and a generation of handicapped youth now stares at Ukraine following the war with Russia which continues in its second year.
The film claims to have shot in the bunkers of the port city while the Russian army approached with full force to bomb and destroy the township. The battle for Mariupol was fought for several days last year. The AP has said in a report that the film crew captured the death of a four years old girl in the first few days of the attack by the Russian army. The film also shows the world glimpses of graves dug up for the killed Ukrainians.
This film had bagged two BAFTA nominations. Globally, the film is being credited to have brought the tales of the agonies of war to the people across the world. The nomination of the film has come at a time when Israel and Hamas War has also accounted for the deaths of several thousands of the people in Gaza.
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