In 2022, the name of Mariupol became the epitome of the cruelty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – Putin’s troops destroyed large parts of the city until the last defenders stopped resisting on May 22nd. The Russian Air Force bombed a theater where many families with children had taken refuge, it bombed a maternity hospital, and the images went around the world. It was taken by photographer Mstylav Chernov, who has now edited the film “20 Days in Mariupol” from his material. The Ukrainian submission for the Oscar competition opens on October 11th. the Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin, while Chernov continues to report from the front. The SZ reached him in Kostyantynivka for a video conversation, which Chernov conducted from his car – and which was interrupted several times by war events and controls at military checkpoints.
War photographer Mstyslav Chernov in an interview: “I have to confront you with reality” – media
