Academy Award Documentary: 20 Days In Mariupol

In March 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq under the pretense it was harboring stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. A presidential commission two years later confirmed that, “not one bit” of the “intelligence” used to justify the war was true. Though the Bush administration conceded its mistake, the war continued for seven years, destroying the country and killing 4400 American troops along with tens of thousands Iraqis.

Wars must always be justified to gain public support despite the real truth underlying the mission. So we must all question what Russia’s real motivations are in its ongoing quest to conquer Ukraine.

We’ve heard many of Russia’s justifications for its invasion, such as the repeated threat posed by Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, or its growing fascism, but these don’t hold up under scrutiny. 

We should also seriously question our own president’s motives for cutting Ukraine off from lifesaving US military intelligence—a decision that cleared a path for Putin’s bombers and gave him an additional advantage. What are his reasons for extorting Zelensky into an unfavorable “peace deal”?

Wars of aggression are always about three things: power, expansionism, and profits. The world knows this. Putin knows this. Trump knows this. But, for the countless victims, there is nothing to gain and everything to lose.

The documentary, 20 Days In Mariupol, won last year’s Academy Award for best documentary. It follows Ukrainian journalist, Mstyslav Chernov, as he and his Ukrainian AP colleagues become trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol while attempting to share the truth of Russia’s invasion with the world.

In support of the Ukrainian people, we present the full documentary 20 Days In Mariupol, commercial free, to bring awareness of the haunting truth of this escalating war.

Made in partnership with The Associated Press, 20 Days in Mariupol also had a decorated run on the 2023 film festival circuit — including at the Sundance Film Festival, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the Sheffield Film Festival and the DocEdge Film Festival. 

20 Days in Mariupol is a FRONTLINE production with The Associated Press. The director, cinematographer and writer is Mstyslav Chernov.