Ukraine war film ’20 days in Mariupol’ joins Oppenheimer among Oscars 2024 winners

“20 days in Mariupol,” a harrowing film highlighting the lethal impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in the early hours of Monday morning.

It was Ukraine’s first-ever win at the Hollywood showpiece event, and the film joined Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” in picking up an iconic bronze statuette.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov said during an emotional acceptance speech. “But probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this [for] Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been waging an onslaught on neighboring Ukraine since February 2022, leaving Mariupol — along with other Ukrainian towns and cities — in ruins. Russian forces have killed tens of thousands of people.

The documentary, made by Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko and co-produced by Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath of the Associated Press, tells the story of the first days of the Russian invasion of Mariupol, which is now controlled by Kremlin forces after a merciless bombardment.

During the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, Chernov demanded that Russia halts its aggression in Ukraine. “I wish for them to release all the hostages, all the soldiers who are protecting their land, all the civilians who are in their jails,” he added.

In 2023, “Navalny,” a film about the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — who died in an Arctic penal colony last month — won the same award.