Baftas 2024: Mstyslav Chernov delivers powerful speech amidst the Ukraine war
The Ukrainian filmmaker behind the making of the Bafta-award-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov, has delivered a powerful speech amidst the war in Ukraine.
Taking to the stage to claim his award for ‘Best Documentary’, Chernov exclaimed: “This is not about us. This is about Ukraine; it’s about the people of Mariupol. I want to keep the focus on that. Yesterday, another Ukrainian city has fallen…the story of Mariupol is a symbol of everything that happens, a symbol of struggle, a symbol of faith and thank you for empowering our voice and let’s just keep fighting”.
Chernov’s film goes back to the very beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, telling the story of a team of Ukrainian journalists who are stuck in the city of Mariupol and continue to document their experiences. A powerful, pertinent and hard-hitting study, the film became one of the most important releases of 2023 when it hit cinemas.
The Baftas aren’t the only ones to recognise the feat of the filmmakers, with the Oscars having also nominated the movie for ‘Best Documentary’, where it will compete alongside such releases as The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, and To Kill a Tiger.
In recent years, the Baftas have given the award for ‘Best Documentary’ to some of the industry’s greatest and most politically important non-fiction feats, including 2022’s Navalny, 2019’s For Sama and 2016’s 13th.
In 2023, the Oscars rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to appear on a telecast, with the very same thing happening back in 2022 to the sound of much international controversy.
Take a look at the trailer for Mstyslav Chernov’s remarkable film 20 Days in Mariupol below, one of the year’s most important documentaries, which is available to stream now.
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