Mstyslav Chernov is a Ukrainian photojournalist, filmmaker, war correspondent and novelist known for his coverage of the Revolution of Dignity, the War in Donbas, including the downing of flight MH17, the Syrian civil war, the Battle of Mosul in Iraq and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the Siege of Mariupol. For this work he received the Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, the Georgiy Gongadze Award, the Knight International Journalism Awards and the Biagio Agnes Award, the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, the Free Media Awards and at the end of 2022 he was included in the nationwide Ukrainian ratings “People of the HB 2022 in the year of war” and “14 songs, photos and art objects that became symbols of Ukrainian resistance” by Forbes Ukraine.
Video materials from Mariupol became the basis of the film “20 Days in Mariupol” which was included in the competition program of the Sundance festival. He is also well-known for his diverse photography exhibitions.
Chernov is an Associated Press journalist, the President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP) and a member of “Ukrainian PEN” since July 2022.
His activity ranges from current affairs to long-term projects related to conflicts, social issues and environmental crises in all formats: video, photo, text and VR.
Chernov’s materials have been published and broadcasted by multiple news outlets worldwide, including CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. He has both won and been a finalist for prestigious awards, including the Livingston Award, Rory Peck Award, Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize and various Royal Television Society awards. In 2023, he shared the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service with Vasilisa Stepanenko, Evgeniy Maloletka and Lori Hinnant.
Chernov has been wounded several times while working during war.
“20 Days in Mariupol” by Mstyslav Chernov / AP
Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” a harrowing first-person account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko arrived an hour before Russia began bombing the city, which is the most important port on the Sea of Azov. Two weeks later, they were the last journalists working for an international outlet in the city, sending crucial dispatches to the outside world showing civilian casualties of all ages, the digging of mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital and the sheer scale of the devastation.
“We can make sure that the historical record is set straight, that the truth prevails, and that the people of Mariupol and those who gave their lives will never be forgotten. Because cinema forms memories, and memories form history”.
While covering the invasion, Chernov encountered a variety of reactions to the team’s presence on the ground. Some thanked the journalists for doing their job. Some called them prostitutes. Some doctors urged them to film graphic scenes of injured and dead children to show the world what had been done.
Only about 40 minutes of footage made it out to the world in real time due to poor connections, but when Chernov and his colleagues were finally able to leave, he decided to do something with the 30 or so hours they had on tape. Chernov, who was born in Ukraine, also narrated the documentary.
The work of Chernov, Maloletka, Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant Won The 2023 Pulitzer Prize For Public Service and featured prominently that same year in a Pulitzer for breaking News Photography.
“20 Days in Mariupol” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. It went on to win Best Documentary from the Directors Guild and BAFTA, and finally the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
At his acceptance speech Chernov stated «I Probably I will be the first director on this stage who will say “I wish I’ve never made this film”»
(Text source
https://apnews.com/article/best-documentary-2024-oscars-61eadff6af5bb91d53737776c1a60ff8
by AP’s Lindsey Bahr and Christopher Weber)
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