20 Days in Mariupol


20 Days in Mariupol is a 2023 Ukrainian documentary film with footage from the first several weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine directed by Mstyslav Chernov.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition. It was selected as the Ukrainian submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, but it was instead nominated in the [Academy Award for Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary|Best Documentary Feature Film|Best List of Peabody Award winners (2020–2029)|Documentary Feature Film] category and went on to win the award. The film was also nominated for two BAFTAs and won one of them, also won a Directors Guild of America Award and Ukrainian National Film Academy Award.
The film has received critical acclaim and was named one of the top five documentary films of 2023 by the National Board of Review. The film was also screened at the start of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
WWW mstyslav.com/20-days-in-m...

Synopsis

The film tells the story of the twenty days Chernov spent with his colleagues in the besieged city of Mariupol in February–March 2022 in the first weeks of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chernov compiled footage that he collected in Mariupol together with the team from PBS's Frontline and the Associated Press.

Production

As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, the Associated Press team documented the Russian 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 of Russia'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. By that time, Chernov's AP crew were the last journalists in the city.
The film from the materials of Chernov was created by the PBS's Frontline team.

Release

UK-based documentary film-distribution company Dogwoof oversees international sales rights, and handles all worldwide sales excluding North America, where PBS Distribution has acquired rights.
The film was released in selected theaters in the US on 14 July 2023. In Ukraine, the film was released in selected theaters on 31 August 2023. Pre-premiere screenings took place in various cities throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv and Lviv. On 21 April 2024 film was released on Netflix.

Screening controversy in Serbia

In October, the film was to be shown at the Serbian Beldocs festival at the Lazarevac Cultural Center in the suburbs of Belgrade. On 10 October, far-right ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party called for the cancellation of the screening of the "anti-Russian propaganda film of the Kyiv regime", which is "an attempt by the West to change the attitude of the Serbian people towards brotherly Russia". On 12 October, festival administration canceled the screening, stressing that "Beldocs is not behind this decision and did not participate in it". Eventually, the film was shown in Belgrade on 21 February 2024.

Box office

On the first weekend of September 2023, the film collected more than 530,000 UAH at the Ukrainian box office, becoming the highest-grossing Ukrainian documentary in history. Overall by March 2024, the film's box office was $20,500.

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on nineteen reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Dennis Harvey of Variety 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." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that 20 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." Randy Myers of The 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."
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.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."

Accolades

20 Days in Mariupol was included in competition of the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary category. The world premiere took place at the festival in January 2023. The film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary category.
The film received more than 20 awards and was nominated for BAFTAs in 2 categories, and won in one of them, Academy Awards in one category and won Directors Guild of America Awards. It also was awarded the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2024.
AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientResult
Sundance Film Festival29 January 2023World Cinema: Documentary Competition20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Sundance Film Festival29 January 2023World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Cinema for Peace Awards24 February 2023Most Valuable Documentary of the Year20 Days in MariupolWon
Cleveland International Film Festival1 April 2023Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award20 Days in MariupolWon
Doc Edge3 June 2023Best International Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Doc Edge3 June 2023Best International DirectorMstyslav ChernovWon
Doc Edge3 June 2023Best International EditingMichelle MiznerWon
DocuDays UA8 June 2023DOCU/UKRAINE Competition Jury Award20 Days in MariupolWon
DocuDays UA8 June 2023Audience Award20 Days in MariupolWon
Sheffield DocFest19 June 2023Tim Hetherington Award20 Days in MariupolWon
Athens International Film Festival9 October 2023Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Athens International Film Festival9 October 2023Best Documentary – Special Mention20 Days in MariupolWon
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards12 November 2023Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards12 November 2023Best First Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolWon
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards12 November 2023Best Political Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards12 November 2023Best NarrationMstyslav ChernovNomitated
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards12 November 2023Best EditingMichelle MiznerNomitated
Gotham Independent Film Awards27 November 2023Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
National Board of Review6 December 2023Top 5 Documentary Films20 Days in MariupolWon
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards10 December 2023Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolNomitated
IndieWire Critics Poll11 December 2023Best Documentary20 Days in Mariupol
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards12 December 2023Best Documentary Film20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Indiana Film Journalists Association17 December 2023Best Documentary20 Days in Mariupol
18 December 2023Best Documentary Film20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association18 December 2023Best Documentary Film20 Days in Mariupol
Toronto Film Critics Association17 December 2023Allan King Documentary Award20 Days in MariupolWon
San Diego Film Critics Society19 December 2023Best Documentary20 Days in Mariupol
23 December 2023Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Alliance of Women Film Journalists3 January 2024Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards6 January 2024Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
National Society of Film Critics Awards6 January 2024Best Non-Fiction Film20 Days in Mariupol
Seattle Film Critics Society Awards8 January 2024Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolWon
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards9 January 2024Best Documentary Film20 Days in MariupolWon
Austin Film Critics Association Awards10 January 2024Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolNomitated
London Critics' Circle Awards4 February 2024Documentary of the Year20 Days in MariupolWon
12 January 2024Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Cinema Eye Honors12 January 2024Outstanding Non-Fiction FeatureMstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCrudden
Cinema Eye Honors12 January 2024Outstanding Debut20 Days in Mariupol
Cinema Eye Honors12 January 2024Audience Choice Prize20 Days in Mariupol
Cinema Eye Honors12 January 2024Outstanding EditingMichelle Mizner
Cinema Eye Honors12 January 2024Outstanding ProductionMstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson Rath and Derl McCruddenWon
Houston Film Critics Society22 January 2024Best Documentary Feature20 Days in MariupolNomitated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle27 January 2024Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Directors Guild of America Awards10 February 2024Outstanding Directing – DocumentaryMstyslav ChernovWon
British Film Editors Cut Above Awards16 February 2024Best Edited Single Documentary or Non-Fiction ProgrammeMichelle MiznerNomitated
British Film Editors Cut Above Awards16 February 2024Best Edited Current AffairsMichelle MiznerWon
Satellite Awards3 March 2024Best Motion Picture – Documentary20 Days in MariupolNomitated
British Academy Film Awards18 February 2024Best Film Not in the English LanguageMstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson-Rath
British Academy Film Awards18 February 2024Best DocumentaryMstyslav Chernov and Raney Aronson-RathWon
Producers Guild of America Awards25 February 2024Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures20 Days in Mariupol
American Cinema Editors3 March 2024Best Edited Documentary (Theatrical)Michelle MiznerNomitated
Academy Awards10 March 2024Best Documentary Feature FilmMstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-RathWon
Peabody Awards9 May 2024Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Edward R. Murrow Award19 August 2024Feature Documentary — Network TV20 Days in MariupolWon
International Broadcasting Convention Award29 August 2024International Honour for ExcellenceMstyslav Chernov for 20 Days in MariupolWon
Golden Dzyga12 September 2024Best Film20 Days in MariupolWon
Golden Dzyga12 September 2024Best Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Grierson Awards7 November 2024Best Current Affairs Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Grierson Awards7 November 2024Best Cinema Documentary20 Days in MariupolWon
Polish Film Awards10 March 2025Best European FilmMstyslav ChernovNomitated