Mstyslav Chernov’s documentary 20 Days in Mariupol is a work of unflinching tragedy and heart pounding intensity, filled with graphic images that won’t soon be lost on anyone who sees them. It’s be the best and most devastating look at the ongoing war in Ukraine yet, and one of the finest films to ever capture the unfiltered horror of living in a battle zone of all time.
Ukrainian journalists Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka (a camera operator), and Vasilisa Stepanenko (a field producer) arrived in the port city of Mariupol just an hour before Russian bombs started dropping on February 24, 2022. They became witnesses to death and devastation in real time. Places and people were there one day and obliterated the next. Lines of communication break down entirely, with most people charging their phones only so they can be used as flashlights. Humanitarian corridors closed and reopened seemingly at random. Opportunists looted anything expensive they could get their hands on. Doctors in hospitals trying to treat the injured and dying – including many children and women in a maternity ward – mentally collapse under the weight of all the trauma. Truck after truck full of bodies arrive at mass gravesites. And to capture it all, Chernov’s crew can’t stay in the same place for too long, but even they are forced to put down the camera at some points because it’s all too much to take in. Some people are thankful for the presence of the journalists acting as their only reliable connection to news and the outside world. Others think they’re vultures, targets, prostitutes, and spreaders of misinformation.
20 Days in Mariupol is as tough and harsh as filmmaking and journalism gets, and to get their point across, it has to be. 20 Days in Mariupol is all about bearing witness on an unprecedented scale. As one interview subject states during the film, “War is like an X-Ray. All human insides become visible. Good people become better. Bad people become worse.” It’s a brilliant, darkly poetic way to describe the chaos, bloodshed, and human rights nightmare that is the war in Ukraine. Some viewers might not be able to get through 20 Days in Mariupol (especially those who have been through similar traumas), and it’s completely understandable, but it’s also one of the most vital films of the year.
Saturday, April 29, 2023 – 2:45 pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Thursday, May 4, 2023 – 5:30 pm – Isabel Bader Theatre
20 Days in Mariupol will be available to stream across Canada via Hot Docs from April 5th to 9th.
This documentary contains challenging and/or triggering subject matter, and Hot Docs will have active listeners available to talk with people after the film. All conversations with active listeners are confidential.
20 Days in Mariupol was screened originally for us as part of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
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