Official Trailer for ’20 Days In Mariupol’ Harrowing Doc About Ukraine
by Alex Billington
June 13, 2023
Source: YouTube
“Wars don’t start with explosions – they start with silence.” Frontline PBS has revealed the main official trailer for an acclaimed documentary film titled 20 Days In Mariupol, one of many films made recently about the war in Ukraine. This one premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, then it also screened at CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, and many other US festivals the past few months. Ukrainian filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov offers a window into the practices of conflict zone reporters and an unflinching, anguishing account of the 20 days he and colleagues spent covering Mariupol. 20 Days in Mariupol is a Frontline + Associated Press collaboration. Not an easy watch, but an important one. “Their ever-spinning camera documents destruction & unimaginable suffering, but also captures small glimpses of hope and humanity amid the ruins, as a human counter to Russian misinformation and propaganda. And while the fighting goes on, Ukrainian journalists struggle to get their vital footage out to a world.” Films like these are always so harrowing and upsetting to watch, but also extremely vital to show to the world anyway.
Here’s the official US trailer for Mstyslav Chernov’s doc 20 Days In Mariupol, direct from YouTube:
An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol (Google Maps) struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more. After nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press, 20 Days In Mariupol is Mstyslav Chernov’s first feature film. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe. 20 Days in Mariupol is directed by the Ukrainian videographer / journalist / filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, making his feature directorial debut with this film. Produced by Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, Michelle Mizner. This first premiered a the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Frontline PBS will debut the film later this year. For more info + screenings, visit their official site.
