Ukrainian journalist and director Mstyslav Chernov received the festival’s Best Documentary Direction award (in the World Cinema category). He presented his film ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ at Sundance
The events of ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ take place during the Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023. Chernov follows a Ukrainian platoon of the Third Separate Assault Brigade to liberate the strategic village of Andriivka, Donetsk region, which is ‘surrounded by mines and accessible only through a tiny sliver of wooded land’.
‘This is the story of Ukrainian soldiers fighting for every inch of their land, — the director describes the film. — This is the story of a small forest and the village of Andriivka — just two hours from my hometown (Chernov was born in Kharkiv. — Note from DTF Magazine). This is the story of modern warfare — how it is fought, endured and how it changes us’.
🏆 The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary goes to Mstyslav Chernov @mstyslavchernov for “2000 Meters to Andriivka” pic.twitter.com/wc1W1RP9lO
— Sundance Film Festival (@sundancefest) January 31, 2025
The journalist worked on the project with colleague and Associated Press photographer Oleksandr Babenko.
Filming began in September 2023, and work on the film lasted almost a year and a half. Producers Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath, who also won an Oscar for ‘20 Days in Mariupol’, worked on it with Chernov and Babenko. Mizner also edited the film.
The soundtrack was written by composer and producer Sam Slater, who won multiple Grammy Awards for his music for the TV series ‘Chernobyl’ and the film ‘Joker’.
‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’: US Film Critics’ Reviews
View this post on Instagram
About Chernov’s previous film at Sundance
Mstyslav Chernov first showed ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ at Sundance 2023. The film participated in the competition program of world documentary films and won the Audience Award.
‘20 Days in Mariupol’ tells about the russian attack on the city on February 24, 2022, the bombing of residential neighborhoods and maternity hospital, the people who lived and worked under the blockade of the city and how Chernov, along with colleagues — photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and journalist Vasilisa Stepanenko — managed to escape from the city surrounded by russian occupiers.
Mstyslav Chernov made all the footage during his 20-day stay in Mariupol. According to the videographer, he has been covering military conflicts for nine years, but ‘this film is a personal story’ because ‘it is the story of the community, our community, our people’.
‘20 Days in Mariupol’ won best documentary at the Oscars 2024 awards ceremony. This is the first ever Oscar for a Ukrainian director. In February 2024, ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ also won the main British film award BAFTA for Best Documentary.
