An Associated Press team of Ukrainian journalists becomes trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine. They struggle to continue documenting the atrocities of the Russian invasion force as they also deal with trying to survive. 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 an acclaimed documentary produced by PBS Frontline with The Associated Press. It was recognized with the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov.
Winner of the Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol follows 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov and his Ukrainian AP colleagues trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol. The resulting film has been honored at festivals around the world and was recently selected by Ukraine as its pick for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.
Produced and edited by FRONTLINE’s Michelle Mizner, 20 Days in Mariupol draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. The result is a raw and haunting account of a journalist risking his life to share the truth of the conflict with the world.
Guest:
Michelle Mizner is an Emmy-winning documentary maker on staff at FRONTLINE PBS. As a director, producer, writer, shooter, film and audio editor, her work for the series spans many storytelling forms.
She was the producer, writer, and creative director of INHERITANCE, an interactive documentary that earned a News and Documentary Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches: Documentary; a Peabody Awards nomination; and was recognized by the Peabodys with an inaugural “Futures of Media” award. The next interactive film she produced, shot and edited, THE LAST GENERATION, told the stories of three children growing up in the Marshall Islands, a low-lying nation threatened by rising seas. It also earned a News and Documentary Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches: Documentary; was named “Interactive of the Year” by World Press Photo; and was cited in FRONTLINE’s 2018 duPont-Columbia Gold Baton award.
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This interview will be recorded Monday, November 20, 2023.
20 Days in Mariupol airs Tuesday November 21. 7/6c:pbs.org/frontline,PBS AppYouTube, PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel 10/9c: PBS stations