“20 Days in Mariupol” shows the people’s struggle for survival in the eastern Ukrainian port city. Now the documentary has won an Oscar. What does this award mean to the people of Ukraine?
Alevtina Schwetsova had to leave her entire life behind in Mariupol. The attack on the eastern Ukrainian port city, the many civilian deaths, and the fact that she was unable to give her own grandmother a proper burial still traumatize the Ukrainian journalist to this day.
That’s another reason why Schwetsova stayed awake to watch the Oscars on television: “Because it’s a film about your life that has become a film,” she says. “I was holding my breath because I doubted the film would win. I was still under the impression of the recent news about Pope Francis’ statements that Ukraine should raise the white flag.” I wouldn’t have understood that at all, said Schwetsova.
The film team of “20 Days in Mariupol” after the Oscars: Derl McCrudden, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Michelle Mizner, Mstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson-Rath and Evgeniy Maloletka (from left)
Most tragic period of the defense of Mariupol
How many people were killed in Mariupol is still unknown. And the Russian occupation authorities do not allow independent investigations. They even tried to cover their tracks, criticizes human rights activist Oleksandr Pavlitschenko: “Some people starved to death, there was no water, people suffered from cold, dehydration, and a lack of medicine and food.”
That’s exactly what the film shows, says Pavlitschenko. “This film takes a look at the most tragic time of the defense of Mariupol. But it’s not about resistance, but about the civilian population’s fight for survival.”
Like the people of Mariupol, the filmmakers are surrounded by Russian troops and fear for their lives. Ukrainian special forces then help the team escape.
The truth is now being shown to the world
In May 2022, Russian troops will completely take Mariupol. Since then, independent reporting from the area has no longer been possible. A fate that has since befallen many other Ukrainian cities and villages.
“And that’s why it means a lot to me, to the people of Mariupol and to Ukrainians, that the Oscar went to the film ’20 Days in Mariupol,'” says Zvetsova. “The truth is now being shown in even more cities and countries around the world.”
President’s wife Olena Zelenska reacts similarly to the journalist Schwetsova to the first Oscar for a Ukrainian film. The award is an important victory for the entire country, Zelenska wrote on Telegram and thanked the creators for showing the world the truth.
“20 Days in Mariupol” – a PBS Frontline and Associated Press production in collaboration with SWR won an Oscar for Best Documentary. The film can be found in the ARD media library.
Rebecca Barth, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, March 11, 2024 1:45 p.m